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VOCATIONAL  CIVICS 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK   •    BOSTON   •    CHICAGO   •    DALLAS 
ATLANTA  •    SAN   FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON   •    BOMBAY   •    CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO    OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


VOCATIONAL  CIVICS 

A  STUDY  OF  OCCUPATIONS  AS  A  BACKGROUND 
FOR    THE  CONSIDERATION  OF  A   LIFE-CAREER 


BY 
FREDERIC  MAYOR  GILES 

Late  Principal  of  The  DeKalb  Township  High  School, 
DeKalb,  111. 

AND 

IMOGENE  KEAN  GILES 

Teacher  of  Vocations,  J.  Sterling  Morton  High  School, 

Cicero,  111. 


xfteto  gorfe 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

1920 

All  rights  reserved 


129824 


Copyright,  1919 
By  THE  MACMILLAN   COMPANY 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published  April,  1919 


HP 
53<Sl 
G33 


TO 

HARRY  VICTOR  CHURCH 
MASTER  COUNSELOR  OF  YOUTH 


A 


i 


V    « 


\ 


f 


PREFACE 

The  need  of  vocational  guidance  for  boys  and  girls  has 
increased  many  fold  in  the  last  year.  Such  alluring  op- 
portunities for  the  beginner  have  opened  up,  that  it  is 
hard  to  prove  to  him  the  necessity  of  a  more  adequate 
preparation.  Every  effort  to  broaden  the  youth's  out- 
look before  he  becomes  a  part  of  the  occupational  world 
is  needed  at  this  time.  Fundamental  to  this  purpose  are 
text  books  that  contain  facts  about  employment  conditions 
and  furnish  data  by  which  one  may  estimate  the  probable 
future  in  a  given  business  or  profession. 

The  plan  and  the  foundation  of  the  present  volume  were 
the  result  of  an  experiment  in  vocational  guidance  carried 
on  for  a  period  of  years  by  the  Jate  Mr.  Giles  while  he 
was  a  high  school  principal.  A  detailed  account  of  Mr. 
Giles'  method  of  procedure  may  be  found  in  Vocational 
Guidance,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin,  1914,  No. 
14,  pp.  52-59.  Mr.  Giles  was  constantly  collecting  in- 
formation about  vocations  which  he  kept  in  a  series  of 
scrap  books.  These,  together  with  his  outlines  and  notes, 
form  the  nucleus  from  which  this  book  has  grown. 

The  new  "  community  civics,"  which  is  being  recognized 
as  one  of  the  most  vital  of  junior  high  school  studies, 
naturally  includes  a  study  of  industries  and  occupations. 
In  many  schools,  the  new  course  in  citizenship  gives  civics 
the  first  semester,  and  "  vocations,"  the  second.  As  one's 
work  in  the  world  is  so  closely  allied  with  his  loyalty  as  a 
citizen,  it  seems  most  natural  to  call  this  text  book,  "  Vo- 
cational Civics." 

vii 


V1H  PREFACE 

I  thank  Mr.  John  M.  Brewer,  head  of  the  department 
of  psychology  and  education,  Los  Angeles  State  Normal 
School,  for  reading  the  manuscript  and  giving  many  ex- 
cellent suggestions;  and  Mr.  W.  Carson  Ryan,  Jr.,  of 
Washington,  D.  C,  for  valuable  advice.  Mr.  W.  L. 
Mathews  provided  the  questions  and  exercises  for  Chap- 
ter V. 

I  am  under  obligations  to  Sears,  Roebuck  and  Com- 
pany, The  International  Harvester  Company,  and  The 
National  Cash  Register  Company,  for  their  courtesy  in 
lending  photographs. 

Imogene  K.  Giles. 

October,  1918. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I    Finding  Your  Place  in  the  World  of  Occupations      1 
II    Government  Service  .  18 

III  Earth  Occupations 31 

Agriculture 32 

Forestry 46 

Mining 50 

Fisheries 55 

IV  Transferring  Occupations .     .     59 

Transportation 59 

Banking 80 

V    Manufacturing  and  the  Building  Trades     ...     87 

VI    Commercial  Occupations 121 

Advertising •   139 

VII    The  Professions 143 

The  Law 145 

Medicine        152 

Nursing    . 162 

VIII    The  Professions  (Continued) 171 

Teaching »  171 

Journalism 177 

Social  Service 183 

The  Library 188 

IX     The  Professions  (Continued) 195 

Engineering         195 

The  Chemist 203 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

X    Personal    Services    and    Professions    for    Enter- 
tainment      209 

Dressmaking,  Millinery,  and  Tailoring  ....  209 

Hotels  and  Restaurants 218 

Musicians,  Artists,  Actors 220 

XI    Personal  Qualifications 225 


VOCATIONAL  CIVICS 


CHAPTER  I 

FINDING  YOUR  PLACE  IN  THE  WORLD 
OF  OCCUPATIONS 

A  recent  story,  which  lias  its  setting  in  the  rural  district 
of  a  foreign  land,  pictures  a  little  pastor  of  a  country 
church  who  hates  his  work.  He  cannot  bear  to  have  Sun- 
day come  around  because  he  must  preach  on  that  day,  he 
feels  that  time  spent  in  preparing  his  sermons  and  attend- 
ing to  his  pastoral  duties  is  just  that  much  taken  away 
from  what  he  would  like  to  be  doing ;  and,  in  fact,  his  whole 
work  is  absolutely  contrary  to  his  taste  and  interest.  On 
the  other  hand,  a  man  who  had  gone  into  business,  and  had 
succeeded  in  getting  a  splendid  financial  return  for  his 
efforts,  was  just  as  unhappy  and  dissatisfied.  The  little 
pastor  was  interested  in  agriculture  ;  he  loved  to  experiment 
with  soils,  and  with  his  knowledge  of  chemistry  and  his 
untiring  industry  during  the  hours  when  he  could  escape 
from  his  professional  duties,  he  was  able  to  make  his  land, 
which  was  situated  in  the  midst  of  barrenness,  fertile  and 
productive.  The  business  man,  when  asked  the  cause  of 
his  discontent  in  the  face  of  prosperity,  replied,  "  I  wanted 
to  be  a  lawyer." 

"  Why,"  you  ask,  "  did  these  two  men  spend  their  lives 
in  work  that  was  naturally  repugnant  to  them  when  each 
knew  perfectly  well  where  his  tastes  and  abilities  really 

lay?"     The  first  case  was  in  a  foreign  land  where  the 

1 


2  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

son's  vocation  is  usually  planned  out  and  decided  upon  by 
his  parents;  the  second  case  was  in  our  own  country,  where 
it  was  taken  for  granted  by  the  family  and  all  concerned 
that  the  boy  would  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  his  father, 
who  was  a  successful  business  man;  and  the  boy  drifted 
along  the  line  of  least  resistance. 

These  are  only  two  examples,  but  we  are  told  that  in  the 
business  and  professional  world  there  are  countless  "  mis- 
fits," men  who,  though  succeeding  fairly  well,  are  unhappy 
in  their  work ;  and  there  are  far  more  tragic  cases  of  those 
who  are  so  unadapted  that  they  are  failing  entirely  or 
barely  eking  out  a  living.  These  incidents  illustrate  a 
state  of  affairs  for  which  you  of  the  coming  generation 
must  work  out  a  remedy.  This  course  of  study  that  we  are 
entering  upon  is  planned  for  the  purpose  of  giving  you  a 
view  of  things  that  may  serve  as  a  guide,  that  may  help 
you  to  avoid  such  unfortunate  choices  as  those  of  the  little 
pastor  or  of  the  sturdy  business  man,  both  good  choices  in 
themselves,  but  both  unsuited  to  those  particular  persons. 

But  do  not  get  the  impression  that  every  adult  is  doing 
what  he  does  not  enjoy.  If  you  will  read  a  little  book, 
called  The  Romance  of  Labor,  you  will  find  short  stories 
of  men  doing  their  day's  work  happily  and  triumphantly. 
They  are  not  presidents  or  kings,  but  men  who  fortunately 
have  found  the  work  to  which  something  within  them  re- 
sponds, and  that  makes  them  say  day  after  day,  "  I  am 
where  I  belong.  I  am  doing  what  I  most  want  to  do  and 
I  love  it."  Some  of  these  occupations  are  dangerous,  some 
are  hard  physically.  One  man,  a  glass  blower,  lived  in 
a  city  where  it  was  against  the  law  for  an  alien  to  engage 
in  that  business.  He  had  broken  the  law,  and  on  being 
brought  to  trial  his  only  defense  was  that  he  loved  his 
work„  Read  the  story  to  see  how  he  came  out,  and  read 
the  rest  of  the  book  to  get  a  picture  of  men  who  find  their 


FINDING    YOUR    PLACE  o 

day's  work  as  appealing  and.  as  stimulating  as  a  foot- 
ball game  or  a  call  to  serve  his  country  is  to  the  high  school 

boy. 

When  you  consider  that  by  your  choice  of  your  life 
work  you  are  to  decide  how  you  will  spend  your  time  for 
eight  or  nine  hours  a  day  during  thirty  or  forty  years,  and 
that  it  may  mean  that  that  time  will  be  spent  in  the  dead- 
ening drudgery  of  the  little  pastor  or  in  the  satisfied  joy 
of  the  glass  blower,  does  it  not  seem  worth  while  to  spend 
some  effort  in  working  out  a  plan  that  will  help  in  the 
decision  ? 

But  while  we  believe  thoroughly  that  it  is  legitimate  to 
choose  an  occupation  from  the  point  of  view  of  happiness, 
and  that  our  work  may  even  be  our  "  greatest  source  of 
happiness,"  there  is  another  basis  of  decision  which  is  of 
high  and  perhaps  of  first  importance.  I  refer  to  the  basis 
of  necessity.  There  are  comparatively  few  men  in  the 
United  States  who  are  not  engaged  in  gainful  occupations. 
Even  the  sons  of  the  wealthiest  parents  are  as  a  rule 
interested  in  their  fathers'  businesses  and  many  are  pre- 
paring to  step  in  and  assume  control  of  great  financial  un- 
dertakings when  the  older  men  are  obliged  to  give  them  up. 
At  the  other  extreme  are  the  poor  specimens  of  humanity 
who  tramp  and  beg  their  way  through  life.  Probably 
none  of  you  belong  to  either  of  these  classes ;  you  will  not 
work  merely  for  the  satisfaction  of  accomplishment, 
neither  will  you  be  content  to  shamble  along  and  obtain 
your  bread  in  the  easiest  possible  way.  On  the  other  hand, 
before  many  years  you  are  going  to  realize  that  you  must 
work  and  work  hard  if  you  are  to  support  yourselves  and 
those  who  are  dependent  upon  you. 

In  a  sense  conditions  for  the  young  man  without  a  defi- 
nite purpose  are  becoming  more  complex  and  difficult. 
Around  us  is  a  great  big,  buzzing  world,  filled  with  every 


4  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

conceivable  kind  of  business  and  with  men  and  women  in 
every  degree  of  success  or  failure.  Why  is  it  that  there  are 
so  many  men  who  are  not  able  to  save  anything  tor  an  emer- 
gency or  for  their  old  age?  The  answer  is,  in  part,  that 
there  is  such  an  immense  and  confusing  field  from  which 
to  choose;  in  this  field  are  certain  occupations  into  which 
it  is  very  easy  for  boys  and  girls  to  drift,  but  which  are 
blind  alley  occupations,  so  called  because  they  lead  no- 
where, and  in  ten  years  the  young  person  finds  himself  just 
about  where  he  began.  Again,  even  though  the  occupation 
may  be  a  good  progressive  one,  the  boy  is  often  unsuccess- 
ful, because  he  is  a  misfit;  there  is  some  other  line  to  which 
he  really  belonged,  and  where  he  could  have  dune  satisfac- 
tory work. 

Competition  is  becoming  so  severe,  business  life  so  stren- 
uous, and  the  balance  between  income  and  expenses  so 
hard  to  adjust,  that  now-a-days  if  one  is  able  to  support 
his  family  and  to  save  a  little  as  he  goes  along  he  has 
accomplished  a  task  that  is  worthy  the  brains  and  the 
strength  of  a  man.  The  encouraging  part  of  it  all  is 
that  while  it  may  look  like  a  hopelessly  confusing  problem, 
and  while  the  task  is  in  reality  a  hard  one,  yet  experienced 
business  men  tell  us  that  there  never  was  a  time  when  it 
was  so  entirely  possible  for  every  capable  young  man  to 
make  a  success  of  his  work.  The  important  thing  is  out 
of  this  entangled  mass  to  choose  the  direction  of  your  path 
and  then  to  learn  how  to  proceed  along  it.  And  that  is  the 
object  of  this  course,  to  help  you  to  make  your  choice  so 
that  you  may  get  into  the  work  that  will,  on  the  one  hand, 
bring  you  the  greatest  happiness  and  satisfaction  and,  on 
the  other,  enable  you  to  earn  your  living  in  the  best  possible 
way. 

For  the  girls,  too,  this  is  equally  important.  More  and 
more,  women  are  engaged  in  gainful  occupations,  not  only 


FINDING    YOUR    PLACE  O 

those  who  do  not  marry,  but  also  that  large  majority  of 
women  who  spend  a  few  years  in  some  other  work  before 
their  marriage,  and  who  after  marriage  arc  often  com- 
pelled  by  circumstances  to  earn  an  income.  Even  the 
woman  whose  life  work  is  that  of  making  a  home  for  her 
husband  and  family,  should  know  as  much  as  possible  of 
the  great  outside  business  world,  because  only  in  this  way 
can  she  know  the  problems  of  those  who  are  facing  these 
things,  only  thus  can  she  make  her  home  the  real  vital 
factor  that  it  should  be  in  backing  up  the  work  of  the 
world.  In  facing  this  problem,  the  first  question  that 
naturally  arises  is:  "What  principles  should  guide  me 
in  the  choice  of  an  occupation  ?  What  help  can  I  get  in 
milking  a  choice  ?  " 

There  are  a  few  points  to  consider  on  the  negative  side. 
First,  do  not  drift  into  an  occupation,  that  is,  do  not  take 
what  lies  near  at  hand  without  regard  to  vour  fitness  for 
it.  Drifting  is  the  easiest  way  of  getting  into  one's  life 
work,  but  it  probably  leads  to  more  unhappiness  than  any 
other  one  cause.  Only  a  few  days  ago,  a  mechanical  engi- 
neer connected  with  a  large  iron  works,  told  me  of  a  serious 
strike  that  was  taking  place  among  their  workmen.  lie 
remarked,  "  One  can't  wonder  at  it.  A  man  can't  meet 
expenses  with  the  wages  that  these  men  make."  When  I 
asked  whether  thev  were  foreigners,  men  who  were  handi- 
capped  and  so  couldn't  get  beyond  the  field  of  unskilled 
labor,  he  replied,  "  Xo,  they  are  Americans;  they  belong 
to  a  large  army  of  rather  ambitious  folks  who  drifted  into 
work  that  brought  an  immediate  income,  rather  than  wait 
to  learn  a  trade  or  at  least  to  find  work  in  which  there 
was  a  chance  to  grow."  This  is  only  one  of  many  examples 
of  the  bad  results  of  drifting,  the  easy  way  that  a  large 
percentage  of  people  take,  but  that  seldom  brings  satisfac- 
tory results. 


G  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

Second,  do  not  choose  a  vocation  because  you  have  heard 
a  rumor  that  sonic  one  person  has  made  money  in  it. 
There  is  need  of  a  much  more  thorough  investigation  than 
this.  Perhaps  it  was  mere  chance  that  brought  the  money 
to  this  particular  person;  perhaps  he  was  better  fitted 
for  that  line  of  work  than  you  are ;  or  possibly  the  num- 
ber of  opportunities  in  that  occupation  is  decreasing  and 
by  the  time  you  are  ready  there  may  be  no  place  for 
you.  Rumor  may  be  false,  and  if  true  there  are  often 
many  causes  that  may  have  led  to  the  result  in  that  partic- 
ular case,  so  do  not  decide  on  that  alone. 

Third,  do  not  choose  an  occupation  for  non-essentials, 
that  is,  because  you  can  wear  clean  clothes,  because  the 
hours  suit  you  or  the  tasks  are  easy.  If  the  work  does 
not  interest  you  enough  to  make  you  willing  to  sacrifice  a 
little  comfort  and  convenience  to  it,  it  is  bound  in  the 
course  of  a  few  years  to  become  mere  drudgery.  As  we 
study  the  different  occupations,  perhaps  in  some  one  of 
them  you  will  feel  an  interest  and  a  response  that  will 
make  such  details  seem  unimportant. 

So  much  for  what  not  to  do.  On  the  positive  side,  there 
are,  in  general,  three  viewpoints  from  which  to  look  in 
making  a  decision. 

First,  you  should  consider  your  ability  to  do  the  work  in 
this  line,  that  is,  have  you  the  power  to  do  this  work  better 
than  the  average  person  ?  You  want  to  know,  then, 
whether  you  have  skill  of  hand  or  eye,  whether  you  excel 
in  memory,  quickness  of  decision,  executive  ability,  and 
the  like.  Your  school  work  will  show  something  about 
these  things;  skill  of  hand  in  manual  training  and  draw- 
ing, mathematical  ability  in  algebra,  and  quickness  of 
decision  in  foot-ball  games.  As  we  go  on  we  shall  see  that 
there  are  general  abilities  that  seem  to  go  with  certain  lines 
of  work,  but  at  the  same  time  the  line  is  not  drawn  very 


FINDING    YOUR    PLACE  I 

sharply;  there  are  many  occupations  open  to  the  boy  with 
manual  skill,  while  the  man  with  executive  ability  has 
almost  numberless  opportunities.  One  capable  business 
man  started  work  as  a  salesman,  but  he  had  not  the  abil- 
ity to  talk  nor  the  push  that  is  necessary  in  salesman- 
ship, and  consequently  he  was  unsuccessful  and  unhappy 
in  his  work.  Finally  he  was  transferred  to  another  de- 
partment, in  which  his  work  was  to  purchase  supplies  and 
to  decide  how  much  and  what  was  to  be  bought.  This 
took  a  certain  clearness  of  thought  and  good  judgment  with 
which  he  was  well  endowed,  and  it  proved  to  be  the  place 
for  which  his  natural  ability  fitted  him. 

Second,  your  choice  must  rest  somewhat  upon  the  oppor- 
tunities in  the  work;  that  is,  (a)  the  number  of  places  to 
be  filled  in  this  line.  This  will  depend  somewhat  upon  the 
location  of  the  particular  business,  somewhat  upon  the  de- 
mand in  general.  For  example,  a  young  woman  prepared 
herself  to  be  a  teacher  of  Greek,  but  when  she  was  ready 
to  teach  she  found  that  there  were  almost  no  schools  offer- 
ing Greek  courses,  consequently  she  was  forced  to  get 
ready  for  something  else.  Similarly  since  the  wide  use  of 
the  motor  truck,  work  in  the  wagon  factories  is  becoming 
noticeably  less. 

(b)  The  wages  paid.  Are  they  living  wages?  While 
money  is  not  the  only  return  for  work,  and  some  people 
think  that  their  ideals  alone  should  be  considered,  yet  it  is 
every  man's  duty  to  support  himself  and  those  dependent 
on  him,  and  he  cannot  always  disregard  wages  in  order  to 
do  the  work  that  he  prefers. 

(c)  The  chances  for  advancement.  Is  there  a  future? 
Some  occupations  pay  fairly  well  at  the  start,  but  there  is 
no  opportunity  ahead.  A  young  man  was  offered  a  posi- 
tion in  another  city  at  the  same  salary  which  he  was  then 
receiving.     His  employers  offered  him  an  increase  of  $400 


8  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

a  year.  But  older  men,  whose  advice  he  asked,  urged  him 
to  accept  the  new  offer.  Why  I  Simply  because  in  the 
new  city  there  was  an  opportunity  to  go  on  until  he  would 
have  doubled  his  salary,  while  in  the  position  he  was  then 
holding,  he  would  probably  never  get  beyond  the  increased 
salary  lie  was  then  offered.  Your  future  success  demands 
that  before  deciding  on  your  life  work,  you  ask  yourself 
the  question :     "  Ten  years  from  now,  where  shall  I  be  ? ' 

(d)  The  conditions  under  which  you  will  work.  ^  Are 
they  healthy,  moral,  etc.  ?  Are  the  hours  such  that  you 
are  left  a  margin  of  time  and  energy  for  development  in 
other  directions  ?  These  are  legitimate  and  necessary 
questions  and  as  we  take  up  the  various  occupations,  we 
shall  examine  them  from  this  point  of  view. 

Third,  you  must  consider  whether  you  can  get  the 
preparation  required  for  the  particular  work  that  you 
would  choose.  As  we  study  the  occupations,  we  shall  learn 
that  some  of  them  require  five  or  six  years  of  preparation. 
This  means  that  in  order  to  maintain  yourself  during  the 
period  of  training  you  must  have  a  certain  amount  of 
capital.  If  you  are  without  a  doubt  that  your  work  lies  in 
a  particular  direction,  which  demands  a  long  period  of 
preparation,  it  might  be  worth  your  while  to  make  consid- 
erable sacrifice  in  order  to  attain  it.  If  you  have  no  money 
to  depend  on  during  this  period,  you  will  have  to  do  with- 
out a  great  many  comforts  and  take  a  longer  time,  earn- 
ing your  expenses  as  you  go.  Many  men  have  accom- 
plished much  in  this  way  but  you  should  be  very  sure  that 
you  have  chosen  a  work  in  which  you  are  likely  to  succeed. 

Now  as  to  the  plan  and  purpose  of  these  lessons ;  it  is  to 
give  a  sort  of  bird's-eye  view  of  the  different  industries, 
professions,  and  commercial  businesses,  with  the  idea  of 
letting  you  see  what  is  the  demand  for  people  in  the  dif- 
ferent lines  of  work  and  what  sort  of  ability  is  required  and 


FINDING    YOUR    PLACE  9 

also  what  are  the  opportunities  for  success.  There  are 
so  many  occupations  that  we  shall  of  course  he  able  to  get 
only  a  casual  acquaintance  with  them;  but  you  will  tind 
references  to  material  so  that  if  you  become  interested  in 
any  particular  line,  you  may  look  it  up  more  carefully. 
For  just  as  in  our  acquaintance  with  people,  we  do  not 
really  know  them  until  we  have  learned  many  details  of 
their  daily  lives,  so  we  cannot  be  sure  of  an  occupation, 
our  real  interest  in  and  fitness  for  it,  until  we  have  learned 
its  possibilities  by  thorough  study. 

As  to  the  determination  of  your  ability  for  a  certain  line 
of  work,  this  is  a  very  difficult  problem.  We  may  say  that 
the  majority  of  generally  intelligent  people  could  fit  them- 
selves for  any  one  of  many  careers.  Then  there  is  the 
comparatively  small  number  of  people  who  have  a  special 
talent  along  some  particular  line,  as  for  instance,  in  art  or 
music.  These  form  a  class  by  themselves  in  which  it  is 
rather  easy  to  discover  whether  or  not  you  belong.  Aside 
from  this  there  are  certain  broad  characteristics  from 
which  you  might  choose  a  class  of  occupations  in  which 
you  could  probably  succeed.  For  instance,  consider  your- 
self in  regard  to  the  following  points,  and  as  you  study 
each  occupation,  try  to  decide  whether  by  nature  you 
would  fit  in,  and  if  so  in  what  department  you  might  do 
the  best  work.  Are  you  strong  or  weak  physically ;  more 
skilled  in  mental  or  in  manual  work;  fond  of  indoor  or  of 
outdoor  life;  inclined  to  direct  others  or  to  follow  direc- 
tions; skilled  in  thinking  out  original  ways  of  doing  things 
or  in  following  what  has  been  laid  out ;  able  to  concentrate 
on  one  thing  to  the  exclusion  of  others  or  to  scatter  your 
attention  over  several  things  at  the  same  time?  * 

As  we  look  at  each  occupation  we  shall  try  to  discover 
what  qualities  in  general  are  desirable:  but  it  must  not  be 

i  Classification  taken  from  Hollingworth,  Vocational  Psychology. 


10  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

thought  that  to  enter  any  particular  kind  of  work  one  must 
have  all  of  the  qualities  mentioned,  though  there  may  be 
some  without  which  it  would  be  unwise  to  try  it.  Again, 
certain  qualities  might  lit  a  man  for  some  special  division 
of  that  work. 

In  the  matter  of  pay,  conditions  will  differ  much  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  country.  The  statements  that  are  made 
must  be  considered  as  only  approximate,  as,  in  the  first 
place,  they  are  likely  to  change  from  year  to  year,  and,  in 
the  second,  they  are  not  uniform  over  the  country.  You 
can  get  only  a  general  idea  of  the  businesses  that  have  big 
opportunities,  of  the  professions  that  are  limited  as  to  in- 
come, and  of  the  degrees  of  pay  according  to  advancement. 
As  you  look  more  thoroughly  into  the  work  in  which  you  are 
particularly  interested,  you  will  be  able  to  find  out  more 
accurately  about  the  remuneration.  It  will  be  compara- 
tively  easv  to  do  this  in  the  case  of  vour  local  industries. 

As  we  discuss  the  opportunities,  advantages,  and  disad- 
vantages, you  must  bear  in  mind  that  there  is  no  occupa- 
tion which  does  not  have  both  favorable  and  ui. favorable 
aspects.  While  your  study  should  help  you  find  that  which 
will  be  interesting  and  satisfying  to  you,  still  you  must 
remember  that  in  no  work  will  you  find  everything  rosy. 
There  will  always  be  times  when  your  life  will  seem 
monotonous,  on  the  one  hand,  or  too  strenuous,  on  the 
other.  You  will  perhaps  look  at  the  advantages  of  other 
occupations  and  wish  that  you  had  chosen  differently. 
Many  men  who  have  succeeded  well  have  done  that.  One 
of  the  greatest  surgeons  longed  for  the  specialized  field  of 
medicine ;  a  renowned  actor  wished  that  he  had  gone  into 
business;  while  a  kinsman  of  his  who  had  grown  rich  in  a 
commercial  position,  pined  for  life  on  the  stage. 

How  can  we  account  for  this  all  too  common  discontent  ? 
Before  answering  this,  we  should  remember  that  there  are 


FINDING    YOUR    PLACE  11 

a  great  many  successful  people  who  are  contented  and 
satisfied  with  their  work.  And  this  fact  with  a  little 
thought  may  help  us  to  see  the  reason.  There  is  always  a 
price  to  pay  for  success,  and  discontent  comes  from  keep- 
ing one's  mind  on  the  price  rather  than  on  the  reward. 
Before  making  his  choice,  one  should  count  the  cost,  that 
is,  should  look  the  disadvantages  squarely  in  the  face  and 
decide  whether  the  compensations  and  rewards  would  make 
him  willing  to  accept  these.  There  is  no  harm  in  chang- 
ing one's  decision  in  the  course  of  investigation,  but  when 
once  started  in  work  it  is  well  to  make  up  one's  mind  that 
unpleasantness  is  to  be  found  everywhere,  and  that  the 
man  who  is  worth  anything  is  willing  to  put  up  with  that 
for  the  sake  of  what  he  is  trying  to  accomplish. 

As  you  study  the  occupations,  you  will  feel  how  closely 
they  are  all  related,  how  not  one  could  exist  without  the 
help  of  many  others ;  and  how  when  they  are  taken  all 
together  they  make  up  the  life  and  progress  of  our  country 
and  of  the  world.  You  will  be  confused,  perhaps,  when 
you  find  the  man  of  science  saying  that  the  most  wonderful 
thing  in  the  world  is  science,  that  all  our  life  is  based  on  it, 
and  that  even  the  horrors  of  war  are  merely  crimes  against 
science;  then  the  lawyer  will  tell  you  that  the  life  of  the 
scientific  man  is  narrow,  that  his  own  profession  is  the 
one  that  holds  the  world  together ;  the  business  expert  says 
that  were  it  not  for  commerce,  there  would  be  no  progress, 
no  agriculture,  no  manufacturing,  that  commerce  has  in- 
spired inventions,  and  has  brought  improvements  within 
the  reach  of  many  people ;  and  then  comes  the  railway 
magnate  and  declares  that  the  most  important  business  of 
all  is  transportation,  and  that  commerce,  agriculture,  and 
manufacturing  would  cease  without  the  railroads. 

The  following  diagram  will  show  you  the  relationships 
of  the  various  occupations.     As  you  see,  the  underlying 


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FINDING    YOUR    PLACE  13 

support  of  all  is  the  government,  federal,  state,  and  munici- 
pal, with  its  great  mail  service  for  the  convenience  of 
business ;  the  army  and  navy  for  its  protection ;  for  the 
same  purpose,  firemen,  detectives,  police,  lifesavers;  judges 
for  the  settling  of  difficulties;  consuls  to  represent  our  in- 
terests in  foreign  cities,  and  countless  other  civil  service 
employees. 

Upon  the  foundation  of  the  state  is  built  a  series  of  im- 
portant businesses.  Necessary  to  all  the  others  are  the 
earth  occupations,  concerned  with  things  that  grow  or  that 
are  found  in  the  earth.  These  include  farming,  forestry, 
fisheries,  and  mining;  there  are  over  twelve  million  men 
in  America  who  are  busy  in  this  kind  of  work.  But 
not  much  would  be  gained  from  the  productions  of  this 
industry,  were  they  not  sent  to  the  manufacturer,  the 
builder,  and  the  packer ;  these  make  the  second  great  indus- 
try, employing  over  ten  million  of  skilled  and  unskilled 
workmen.  But  these  in  turn  must  sell  their  products,  and 
so  we  have  first  the  great  wholesale  business,  and  then  the 
numberless  retail  stores  and  salesmen,  altogether  keeping 
over  three  million  people  busy.  In  order  to  get  the  raw 
products  of  the  earth  occupations  to  the  manufacturer,  and 
in  turn  to  transfer  his  products  to  the  wholesale  ware- 
houses, and  from  them  to  the  retail  stores,  and  finally  to 
the  consumer,  there  has  grown  America's  system  of  trans- 
portation with  over  two  million  men  to  keep  it  in  action. 
There  is  moreover  another  line  of  connection  between  the 
industries.  Every  undertaking  must  have  a  financial  back- 
ing, hence  the  great  banking  business,  which  offers  occupa- 
tion to  over  one  hundred  thousand  people. 

Thus  we  have  what  might  be  called  the  great  funda- 
mental industries,  giving  occupation  to  over  thirty  million 
people.  But  to  carry  on  these  businesses,  and  also  for  the 
help  and  comfort  of  these  thirty  million  people  and  their 


14  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

families,  there  is  needed  much  professional  and  personal 
sendee.  Consequently  in  the  diagram  you  will  see  built 
on  these  fundamental  occupations,  many  professions,  such 
as  the  law,  medicine,  teaching,  and  engineering,  etc. 
Helping  all  of  these  we  have  hotel -keeping,  journalism, 
clerking,  stenography,  and  more  distinctively  personal  serv- 
ice, such  as  hairdressing  and  hair-cutting.  Then  comes  a 
most  necessary  kind  of  occupation,  that  of  supplying  relax- 
ation and  enjoyment  to  those  engaged  in  strenuous  work. 
Among  those  who  render  professional  services  for  enter- 
tainment are  the  artists  and  actors,  the  dramatists  and 
authors,  the  singers,  pianists,  violinists  and  all  musicians. 

While  in  general,  this  represents  the  great  work  of  the 
world,  there  is  much  overlapping  and  interweaving,  so 
that  every  occupation  is  dependent  on  many  others.  This 
should  make  us  feel  that  there  is  a  dignity  and  importance 
attached  to  all  work,  and  that  every  one  who  chooses  his 
occupation  well,  and  does  his  work  successfully  is  not  only 
making  the  most  of  himself,  but  is  serving  his  country 
and  humanity. 

In  this  age  of  the  world  there  is  more  or  less  of  oppor- 
tunity for  girls  and  women  in  almost  every  line  of  work. 
While  in  certain  fields  they  have  unusual  opportunities, 
and  in  a  few  seem  to  have  no  chance  at  all,  yet  on  the 
whole  it  is  getting  to  be  more  nearly  impossible  to  dis- 
tinguish the  work  of  men  from  that  of  women.  Moreover 
for  the  sake  of  a  broad  understanding  of  life,  it  is  well 
for  both  men  and  women  to  know  all  that  they  can  about 
every  sort  of  work. 

Before  considering  individual  occupations,  you  can 
probably  make  your  initial  choice  between  two  great 
groups;  the  first,  those  that  wo  think  of  particularly  as 
business  and  industries,  including 


FINDING    YOUR    PLACE  15 

I.     Commerce 
Selling 
Accounting 
Clerical  Work 
Stenography 
II.     Manufacturing 
Building 

III.  Railroading 

IV.  Agriculture 
V.     Banking 

The  second  great  group  includes  what  we  call  the  pro- 
fessions : 


I. 

Law 

II. 

Medicine 

III. 

Teaching 

IV. 

Engineering 

V. 

Literary  work 

VI. 

Scientific  work 

VII. 

Artistic  work 

In  general  terms,  most  people  choose  between  the  busi- 
ness world  and  the  professional.  In  the  former,  there  is 
on  the  whole  more  opportunity  to  make  money,  in  the  lat- 
ter, the  love  of  study  is  a  requirement,  and  devotion  to 
work  must  outweigh  the  desire  for  financial  gain. 

EXERCISES 

1.  Describe  the  case  of  someone  you  know  who  has  seemingly 
drifted  into  the  wrong  kind  of  work.  Do  you  think  this  is  merely 
an  instance  of  discontent,  or  can  you  give  definite  reasons  for  your 
opinion? 

2.  Do  the  same  in  regard  to  someone  who  is  in  just  the  right 
place.     Why  do  you  think  this? 


16  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

3.  Can  you  think  of  any  rules,  besides  those  given  in  this  chapter, 
by  which  one  might  be  guided  in  choosing  an  occupation? 

4.  Give  examples  to  illustrate  the  six  principles  of  choice  enu- 
merated in  the  text. 

o.  Write  as  many  arguments  as  you  can  to  prove  that  every  girl 
should  plan  her  life  career.     Are  there  any  arguments  against  this? 

G.  Make  a  list  of  twenty  occupations,  telling  in  each  case  how 
long  you  think  it  would  take  to  get  the  necessary  preparation. 

7.  Copy  the  list  of  characteristics  on  page  9  and  after  each 
qualification  mention  work  for  which  it  would  be  useful. 

8.  The  statement  is  often  made  that  people  in  business  have 
larger  incomes  than  those  in  the  professions.  Would  you  modify  this 
statement?     Explain  how. 

9.  In  your  note  book,  make  a  list  of  books  and  magazine  articles 
that  you  have  come  across  which  you  think  would  help  in  consider- 
ing an  occupation.  Leave  two  or  three  blank  pages  after  this  list  so 
that  you  can  add  to  it  from  time  to  time  through  the  year. 

10.  In  what  occupation  do  you  think  that  you  would  be  most 
likely  to  succeed?     Why  do  you  think  so? 

Question  for  Debate:  The  manufacturing  group  of  occupations  is 
more  essential  for  the  well  being  of  the  world  than  is  the  commercial 
group. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Reid,  Whitelaw.  Careers  for  Coming  Men.  Saalfield  Publishing 
Co. 

Alden,  Cynthia.  Women's  Ways  of  Earning  a  Living.  A.  S. 
Barnes  Co.,   1910. 

Nearing,  Scott.  Wages  in  the  United  States.  The  Macmillan  Com- 
pany, N.  Y.,   1911. 

Parsons,  Frank.  Choosing  a  Vocation.  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co., 
1909. 

Statistical    Abstract    of    the    United    States    Census,    1916. 

American  Community  Life  Leaflets.  Bureau  of  Education,  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interior,   1917,   18. 

Bennett,  Helen  Marie.  Women  and  Work.  D.  Appleton  &  Co., 
1917 

Reports  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  the  Census. 

Gowin  and  Wiieatley.     Occupations.     Ginn  &  Co,  1916. 

LaSalle  and  Wiley.  Vocations  for  Girls.  Houghton,  Mifflin  & 
Co.,  1913. 


FINDING    YOUR    PLACE  17 

Weaver,  Em  W.     Profitable  Vocations  for  Girls.     A.  S.  Barnes  Co., 

1915. 
Weaver  and  Byler.     Profitable   Vocations  for  Boys.     A.  S.  Barnes 

Co.,  1015. 
Leavitt,  Frank  M.  and  Bkown,  Edith.     Elementary  Social  Science. 

The  Macmillan  Co. 
Lutz,  R.  R.     Wage  Earning  and  Education.     Cleveland  Foundation, 

1916. 
Twombly,  Frances  D.  and  Dana,  John  C.     The  Romance  of  Labor. 

The  Maemillan  Co.,  1910 
Lapp^  John  A.     Learning  to  Earn.     Bobbs  Merrill  Co.,  1915. 
Martin,  Eleanor.     Vocations  for  the  Trained  Woman.     Longmans 

Green   Co.,   1914. 
Employees'    Welfare      From    Monthly    Review   of    Bureau   of   Labor 

Statistics.     1917. 


CHAPTER  TI 
GOVERNMENT  SERVICE 

Although  this  is  a  branch  of  work  which  is  not  often 
thought  of  by  boys  and  girls  in  high  school,  we  shall  dis- 
cuss it  first  of  all  because,  as  you  noticed  in  the  diagram, 
it  is,  in  a  way,  the  foundation  upon  which  all  the  other 
occupations  are  built.  As  we  look  at  some  of  the  details 
it  may  not  seem  that  this  is  so;  for  government  service, 
when  we  consider  not  only  the  nation  but  also  the  state  and 
the  city,  covers  many  kinds  of  work  from  that  of  the  man 
who  drives  the  garbage  cart  to  that  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States.  But  between  these  two  extremes,  in 
neither  of  which  we  are  likely  to  find  our  life  work,  there 
are  positions  of  all  sorts  and  grades,  by  means  of  which 
our  citizens  and  our  industries  are  protected,  business  is 
facilitated,  and  conditions  generally  are  improved.  Take, 
for  instance,  the  one  item  of  the  mail  service,  and  in  an 
instant  we  get  a  glimpse  of  what  it  would  mean  if  this  one 
department  should  be  crippled.  In  this  single  branch,  ac- 
cording to  the  census  of  1910,  the  government  employed 
119,551  people. 

Let  us  glance  at  some  other  lines  of  government  service 
just  to  see  how  fundamental  it  is  to  all  business.  Take, 
for  instance,  the  policemen,  the  firemen,  and  health  offi- 
cers of  all  sorts.  Immediately  you  see  their  usefulness  in 
the  protection  and  welfare  of  every  one.  In  quite  an- 
other field  is  the  immense  amount  of  construction  work 

that  is  done  by  the  government.      Then  there  is  a  large 

18 


GOVERNMENT    SERVICE  19 

army  of  stenographers,  typists,  clerks,  and  secretaries,  in 
Washington,  in  the  state  capitals,  and  in  fact  in  all  parts 
of  the  country.  At  first  glance  these  may  not  all  seem, 
to  be  of  such  fundamental  importance,  but  they  are  like 
privates  in  the  army,  it  would  be  impossible  to  carry  on 
the  great  business  of  government  without  them  all. 

Another  group  that  might  interest  you  is  that  of  the 
people  who  are  making  our  money.  Take  the  paper 
money  which  is  made  by  the  bureau  of  engraving  and 
printing.  This  is  a  great  printing  house  with  its  elec- 
trical presses  and  other  mechanical  devices.  The  bills 
are  printed  on  large  sheets  with  a  certain  number  of  bills 
to  a  sheet.  Many  women  are  employed  counting  these 
sheets ;  for  a  very  strict  account  must  be  kept  of  every  one 
printed.  We  are  told  that  in  one  day  enough  paper 
money  is  manufactured  to  cover  a  space  of  five  acres, 
enough  postage  stamps  to  cover  six  acres  and  enough 
revenue  stamps  to  cover  eleven  acres.  In  this  one  de- 
partment there  are  4,000  employees ;  and  of  these  there 
are  200  more  women  than  men.  These  statements  refer  of 
course  to  normal  times.  When  a  special  war  revenue 
must  be  raised,  there  is  an  increase  of  work ;  but  at  such 
times  all  industrial  conditions  are  greatly  changed. 

Again,  there  are  the  people  employed  in  the  interests 
of  public  justice;  not  merely  the  judges  who  must  of 
course  have  a  legal  training,  but  many  other  officers,  as 
for  instance,  probation  officers,  employees  of  the  juvenile 
courts,  police  matrons,  detectives,  and  somewhat  along 
this  line,  superintendents  for  all  sorts  of  public  institu- 
tions. Most  of  these  serve  the  county  or  state  rather  than 
the  federal  government. 

Then  there  is  the  entire  consular  service,  which  offers 
opportunities  for  boys  to  help  in  looking  out  for  the 
business   of   the   United    States   in    other   lands.     Young 


20  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

men  who  are  going  into  this  work  usually  take  a  special 
course  in  some  university.  They  must  make  up  their 
minds  to  a  life  in  foreign  lands,  where  conditions  are  quite 
different  from  those  at  home,  and  where  they  will  doubt- 
less at  first  be  very  lonely.  But  there  is  an  opportunity 
here  to  see  other  countries  and  many  men  have  become 
much  fascinated  with  the  work.  In  accordance  with  a 
recent  bill,  consuls  are  appointed  to  a  certain  grade  of 
service.  When  they  have  reached  a  higher  point  of  ex- 
perience and  ability,  they  are  advanced  to  a  higher  grade 
of  service;  so  that  the  consular  field  has  become  a  desirable 
one  for  the  able  and  ambitious  youth. 

Along  many  lines  of  business  the  government  employs 
expert  advisers.  For  instance,  in  the  Department  of  Ag- 
riculture are  soil  experts,  dairy  experts,  forestry  experts; 
in  the  Department  of  Pure  Foods,  there  is  a  demand  for 
men  skilled  in  chemistry;  in  the  Bureau  of  Standards, 
for  men  trained  in  physics;  in  the  Department  of  Ge- 
ology, there  is  room  for  boys  interested  in  that  study, 
while  in  many  departments  experts  in  mechanical  and 
architectural  drawing  will  find  a  place. 

We  have  not  yet  mentioned  a  most  important  division, 
that  of  the  army  and  navy.  For  these  alone,  a  whole 
book  might  be  written  on  the  qualifications,  training,  and 
opportunities.  The  work  in  the  ranks,  especially  in 
time  of  peace,  does  not  have  the  romance  and  glam- 
our that  many  boys  imagine.  The  training  is  hard 
and  the  life  monotonous.  Manv  who  are  attracted  to  the 
service,  prefer  to  enter  by  way  of  an  officers'  training 
school.  West  Point  for  the  army  and  Annapolis  for  the 
navy,  which  means  that  they  would  start  in  with  the  rank 
of  second  lieutenant.  This  statement  of  course  refers 
to  times  of  peace.  A  state  of  war  is  so  abnormal  that  all 
occupations  are  on  a  different  basis.     The  entrance  to  the 


GOVERNMENT    SERVICE  21 

military  and  the  naval  academies  is  through  appointment; 
and  the  best  way  to  get  information  regarding  possibilities 
in  your  district  is  to  get  into  communication  with  your 
congressman.  Besides  the  ordinary  officers  who  must  of 
course  be  leaders  of  men,  the  army  and  navy  both  require 
many  sorts  of  engineers,  builders,  doctors  and  clerks. 
This  might  be  illustrated  by  the  board  of  advisers  ap- 
pointed by  Mr.  Daniels,  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  This 
board  was  headed  by  Mr.  Edison  and  is  made  up  of  elec- 
trical experts,  authorities  in  astronomy,  in  geography,  in 
mathematics,  in  physics ;  of  inventors ;  and  of  men  promi- 
nent in  the  great  business  of  manufacturing.  This  helps 
to  show  what  we  shall  learn  more  and  more  as  we  proceed, 
that  all  the  occupations  are  interwoven  and  dependent  upon 
each  other;  and  that  those  who  aspire  to  be  leaders  in  any 
of  them,  must  be  experts  with  long  and  severe  training. 

Qualifications 

The  qualifications  for  government  service  differ  as  much 
as  do  those  needed  in  the  whole  field  of  occupations. 
We  may  perhaps  state  certain  general  requirements,  but 
after  that  you  must  add  to  and  modify  these  according 
to  the  special  line  that  you  wish  to  enter.  Government 
employees  who  are  not  in  the  army  or  navy  are  included 
in  what  is  called  Civil  Service.  About  two-thirds  of  the 
civil  service  positions  are  "  classified,"  that  is,  they  must 
be  entered  by  means  of  the  examinations.  The  other  po- 
sitions are  obtained  either  by  election  or  appointment. 
States  and  cities  have  systems  similar  to  that  of  the  fed- 
eral government  with,  to  some  extent,  parallel  positions. 
Now,  let  us  consider  one  or  two  general  characteristics  be- 
sides the  ability  to  pass  the  examinations;  for  this  de- 
mands a  rather  definite  preparation. 

One  characteristic  that  is  required  in  almost  all  govern- 


22  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

ment  work  is  that  of  exactness.  It  is  the  strict  insistence 
upon  this  point  that  has  led  to  what  is  often  complained  of 
as  too  much  "  red  tape."  But  even  exaggerated  care 
is  necessary  in  order  to  keep  definite  records  in  such  an  im- 
mense and  complicated  system.  If  you  are  impatient  of 
details,  and  are  incapable  of  being-  careful  and  painstak- 
ing down  to  the  minutest  point,  you  would  better  seek 
employment  under  some  master  other  than  the  United 
States  Government.  Short  cuts  to  results  are  all  right 
in  many  places,  but  not  in  a  government  office.  This 
requirement  comes  to  the  front  even  before  one  is  al- 
lowed to  take  the  examination;  for  an  application  that 
fails  to  be  in  exact  form  is  not  considered,  but  is  returned 
for  correction. 

Two  qualities  are  necessary  as  a  means  of  accomplishing 
a  large  amount  of  exact  work  in  a  given  time.  These  are 
concentration  and  quickness.  One  can  do  almost  any 
kind  of  work  better  if  he  has  the  power  of  keeping  his 
mind  on  that  work  to  the  exclusion  of  everything  else; 
but  this  is  particularly  true  of  statistical  work,  filing,  and 
bookkeeping;  and  much  of  the  civil  service  work  is  of 
this  sort.  A  woman  who  has  a  well  paying  government 
position  is  able  to  do  highly  efficient  work  because  she 
has  trained  herself  to  know  nothing  of  what  is  going  on 
around  her  while  she  is  working.  The  other  quality, 
quickness,  is  likely  to  come  with  concentration  and  it  is 
easy  to  see  how  necessary  it  is. 

Also  one  must  come  up  to  certain  standards  before  he 
is  eligible  for  examination.  He  must  be  in  good  physical 
condition,  and  must  not  drink  intoxicating  liquors  to 
excess.  More  and  more  the  character  and  habits  of  the 
applicants  are  being  considered.  Some  cities  have  ap- 
pointed bureaus  of  investigation  to  find  out  whether  the 
person  has  lived  a  clean,  honest,  temperate  life. 


GOVERNMENT    SERVICE  23 


Preparation 


The  preparation  for  the  Civil  Service  examinations  may 
be   described    quite   definitely.     Here   there   are    first   of 
all  the  "grade  examinations."     These  are  in  the  funda- 
mental branches,  such  as  arithmetic,  spelling,  grammar, 
and  geography,    and   their   difficulty   is   scaled   according 
to  the  grade  of  the   position  you   are  seeking.     Besides 
these,  there  is  an  examination  in  the  specialty  in  which 
you  want  your  position,  i.e.,  stenography,  medicine,  sci- 
ence,  or   engineering.     A  good   authority    says   that   for 
many  positions  general  information  is  an  essential.     This 
should  include  current  events,  the  organization  of  the  gov- 
ernment, important  events  and  persons  in  history  and  lit- 
erature, and  information  in  regard  to  the  geography  of 
the  earth's  surface.     Preparation  for  the  grade  examina- 
tions and  this  general   information  may  be  gained  from 
your  high  school  course.     For  those  who  are  planning  to 
work  into  the  more  responsible  government  positions,   a 
college  course  is  most  desirable.     The  majority  of  the  con- 
gressmen at  present  are  college  graduates,  while  almost 
all  of  the  appointive  offices  are  given  to  men  with  at  least 
an  equivalent  education.     Not  the  old-fashioned  sort  of  a 
college  course,  with  much  Latin  and  Greek,  but  the  new, 
broader,  more  practical  work,  with  political  science,  gov- 
ernment, history,  and  English,  helps  to  fit  a  man  for  a 
career  connected   with   the   government.     Of   course   for 
the  many  positions  in  scientific  research  or  engineering,  a 
particular  technical  education  is  required. 

If  you  are  interested,  write  to  the  Civil  Service  Com- 
mission at  Washington,  D.  C,  for  the  latest  Manual  of 
Examinations,  which  is  published  semiannually.  This 
will  give  you  minute  information  as  to  how  to  proceed  if 
vou  wish  to  try  any  of  the  examinations.     Examinations 


24  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

in  all  lilies  for  which  there  are  vacancies  are  held  twice  a 
year  in  every  state  in  the  union.  After  the  examination 
has  been  passed,  the  candidate  is  put  on  the  eligible  list, 
and  from  this  list  appointments  are  made  as  there  is  a  de- 
mand. After  the  appointment,  the  employee  is  on  pro- 
bation for  six  months  in  order  to  prove  his  fitness.  After 
that  the  position  is  practically  secure  as  long  as  lie  is 
capable  of  doing  the  work.  Information  in  regard  to  the 
state  or  city  positions  may  be  had  by  writing  to  the  state 
capitol  or  city  hall  respectively. 

Opportunities  axd  Advantages 

First,  if  vou  are  interested  in  government  service,  vou 
would  like  to  know  how  much  chance  there  is  of  your  get- 
ting into  it.  In  the  last  manual  of  examinations  two  and 
a  half  pages  are  filled  with  a  list  of  the  examinations  to  be 
given.  The  following  table  taken  from  the  same  book 
will  also  show  something  about  the  number  of  people  em- 
ployed by  the  government. 

In  -Tune,  11)15,  there  were  the  following  number  of 
people  working  for  the  United   States  Government: 

In  Washington,  D.  C 34.430 

Outside  of  Washington    421,259 

In  Isthmian  Canal  region 20,674 

Total 476,363 

From  July  1st,  1013,  to  June  30th,  1014,  there  were 

215,587  people  examined; 
147,256  people  passed; 

68.4  per  cent,  of  those  examined  passed; 

41,935  people  appointed  to  positions; 

28.4  per  cent,  of  those  who  passed  were  appointed. 

Take  then  the  year  for  which  the  figures  w7ere  given 
here:     It  would  seem  that  215,587  people  wanted  to  get 


GOVERNMENT    SERVICE  25 

positions,  only  08.4  per  cent,  of  these  were  able  to  pass 
the  necessary  examinations;  and  of  these  only  28.4  per 
cent,  were  appointed  to  positions.  Ability  to  do  well  in 
the  examinations  is  a  large  factor  in  the  matter  of  ap- 
pointment; for  when  there  is  a  vacancy,  eligibles  are  se- 
lected largely  in  the  order  of  the  grade  they  have  made. 
So  if  you  will  think  over  once  more  what  we  have  said  in 
regard  to  preparation,  it  may  help  you  to  decide  whether 
you  can  bring  yourself  up  to  the  required  standard.  As 
you  will  see  if  you  look  over  the  manual,  other  considera- 
tions come  in,  but. on  the  whole,  appointment  depends  upon 
merit.  The  best  plan  is  to  study  the  various  departments 
and  decide  what  goal  you  would  like  to  reach.  Then  be- 
gin to  plan  and  to  prepare  for  the  position  that  you  would 
like  to  hold  years  from  now. 

Second,  what  pay  might  you  expect  to  receive  ?  In  gen- 
eral, one  does  not  go  into  government  service  because  he 
will  receive  better  pay  than  elsewhere.  There  must  be 
then  other  inducements,  and  these  we  shall  consider  soon. 
Again,  the  manual  will  give  you  a  list  of  the  minimum  and 
maximum  entrance  salaries  paid  to  the  appointees  in  each 
sort  of  position  filled  in  a  given  year.  In  the  list  given 
in  the  spring  of  1917,  the  salaries  ran  from  $000  to  $2000 
a  year. 

The  following  table,  taken  partly  from  the  list  and 
partly  from  Mr.  Foltz's  book  on  Civil  Service,  will  give 
you  an  idea  of  the  salaries  paid  in  just  a  few  of  the  po- 
sitions: 

Minimum         Maximum 
Position  salary  salary 

Library  assistant $     720.00 $  1,000.00 

Physicians    480.00  1,800.00 

Stenographers   (men )    900.00  1,000.00 

Stenographers  (women)   720.00 


26  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

(The  foregoing  are  entrance  salaries,  the  following  in- 
clude those  paid  after  promotion.) 

Railway  mail  clerk   $    800.00 $  1,600.00 

P.  O.  clerks  and  carriers 600.00  1,200.00 

Clerks  with  library  duties....   1,200.00  1,800.00 

Statisticians    1 ,200.00 3,000.00 

Consular  service   2,000.00  12,000.00 

Patent  investigation 1,500.00  2,700.00 

For  clerical  positions,  the  salaries  rim  from  $900,  that 
of  the  beginner,  to  $3000,  that  of  chief  clerk.  Now,  a  very 
successful  business  man  may  make  $25,000  a  year,  and 
such  a  man  may  look  down  upon  civil  service  positions. 
For  scientific  work  in  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  men 
are  paid  from  $3000  to  $4000  a  year,  while  for  similar 
work  outside  of  the  government,  they  may  get  from  $6000 
to  $10,000.  Superintendents  of  large  farms  and  ranches 
are  paid  from  $2000  to  $10,000  a  year,  while  for  a  simi- 
lar grade  of  work  for  the  government  they  would  receive 
$4000.  These  last  statements  refer  to  men  whose  work 
and  pay  are  above  the  average.  The  ordinary  man  gets 
rather  more  from  the  government  than  elsewhere.  For 
instance  a  man  who  does  good,  faithful,  and  not  particu- 
larly original  work  will  get  under  the  government,  about 
$1800  a  year,  while  the  same  man  in  business  will  prob- 
ably earn  about  $1200. 

One  more  thing  may  be  said  about  government  pay,  it 
is  sure  and  steady.  While  wages  in  the  industrial  world 
fluctuate  from  time  to  time  according  to  the  conditions  of 
business,  the  government  keeps  a  steady  even  rate,  and 
one  has  the  advantage  of  a  feeling  of  security. 

Third,  what  about  the  question  of  the  future  ?  To  what 
can  a  boy  or  girl  going  into  this  kind  of  work  look  for- 
ward in  the  coming  years  ?  First,  civil  service  is  a 
most  excellent  stepping  stone  for  certain  kinds  of  occupa- 


GOVERNMENT    SERVICE 


27 


tions.  Scientifically  trained  young  men  will  sometimes 
take  positions  at  a  very  low  pay,  merely  for  the  sake  of 
the  experience.  As  we  shall  learn  later,  a  splendid  field 
is  opening  up  everywhere  for  the  scientist.  Especially  is 
this  true  of  the  expert  in  agriculture.  After  graduating 
from  an  agricultural  college  a  young  man  may  go  into 
government  service  where  he  will  have  excellent  training 
at  no  expense  and  be  ready  for  a  good  position  in  con- 
nection with  the  farming  interests  of  the  country. 

The  patent  department  is  every  year  losing  men  who 
are  offered  positions  in  the  firms  of  patent  attorneys. 
With  a  law  education  and  some  scientific  training,  a  young 
man  has  every  chance  of  a  most  excellent  opening. 

For  a  political  career  there  is  nothing  better  than  to  be 
able  to  study  the  government  at  first  hand.  After  a  the- 
oretical education,  much  can  be  learned  in  a  practical 
way,  and  many  a  young  man,  after  a  clerkship  in  one' of 
the  departments,  has  gone  home  and  run  for  a  political 
position,  and  has  thus  found  a  way  to  do  larger  and  more 
responsible  work  in  the  affairs  of  the  nation. 

There  is  one  very  decided  advantage  for  the  young 
man  who  plans  to  go  into  a  profession  but  who  cannot 
afford  to  get  the  necessary  education.  This  refers  to  those 
working  in  the  city  of  Washington.  The  hours  are  short, 
closing  at  4:30,  and  every  year  there  are  thirty  days  of 
vacation  with  pay,  so  that  there  is  ample  time  for  study 
for  one's  future  work.  Because  of  this  condition,  several 
colleges,  which  are  situated  in  and  near  Washington, 
have  arranged  their  courses  so  that  work  may  be  taken 
after  office  hours,  and  a  young  man  may,  while  earning  his 
living  and  enough  for  his  tuition,  take  a  law  or  medical 
course  and  even  get  a  start  in  his  practice. 

On  the  other  hand,  one  who  has  made  up  his  mind  to 
go  into  the  commercial  work  of  business,  would  better  not 


28  VOCATIONAL,    CIVICS 

start  with  civil  service.     The  business  methods  used  by 
the  government  arc  quite  different  from  those  used  in  the 
business  world,  and  it  is  generally  conceded  that  a  govern- 
ment employee  becomes  unfit  for  a  purely  business  career. 
Now  as  to  the  permanent  values  of  this  work  aside  from 
the  money  values.     While  financially  it  cannot  be  said 
to  offer  great   inducements,   from   the  point   of  view   of 
service    and    reputation    the   returns    are   great.     As    we 
said  at  the  beginning,  the  government  is  the  foundation 
and  support  of  all  other  business;  it  is  quite  worth  while 
to  feel  that  one  has  his  hand  in  such  a  big  affair.     Every 
cog  in  the  wheel,  every  bit  of  the  machinery  of  govern- 
ment is  essential  to  the  safe  conduct  of  the   whole  na- 
tion.    And  one  does  not  need  to  be  a  mere  bit  of  machin- 
ery.    Good  suggestions  for  new  systems  are  welcome  here 
as  in  other  lines  of  business,  and  when  it  comes  to  the 
scientific   experimental    laboratories,    there   is    a    use   for 
any  amount  of  knowledge  and  ingenuity.     From  the  de- 
partment of  agriculture  advice  is  given  freely  to  all  parts 
of  the  country,  and  thus  blights  have  been  destroyed  and 
crops  increased. 

The  greatest  inspiration  comes  from  this  definite  op- 
portunity to  be  of  service  to  the  world,  but  there  are  in 
government  service  other  advantages  especially  to  a  cer- 
tain type  of  men.  To  those  who  care  more  about  living 
than  making  great  wealth,  there  comes  the  chance  to  make 
a  comfortable  and  sure  income  with  short  hours,  and  long 
vacations,  so  that  there  is  time  to  live  and  to  pursue  an 
avocation,  something  that  in  the  long  run  brings  more 
happiness  than  great  wealth  and  what  is  generally  called 
success. 

But  before  we  stop  we  must  also  face  the  disadvantages. 
In  an  ordinary  position,  one  is  in  great  danger  of  losing 
his  individuality;  in  a  sense  he  is  just  a  part  of  a  big 


GOVERNMENT    SERVICE  29 

machine,  and  no  matter  how  well  lie  does  his  work  he  is 
likely  to  stay  just  where  lie  begins  unless  he  makes  a  defi- 
nite effort  to  advance.  The  very  nature  of  the  routine 
work  is  likely  to  kill  the  desire  to  advance,  hut  it  is  en- 
tirely possible  to  overcome  this  tendency  and  by  the  use  of 
initiative  to  work  oneself  into  a  desirable  position. 

^*ow  as  to  the  opportunities  for  women.  Women  are 
eligible  to  less  than  10  per  cent,  of  the  civil  service  posi- 
tions;  but  when  they  are  once  appointed,  they  have  the 
same  chance  as  do  the  men.  Their  work  is  largclv  in  the 
following  lines:  stenographer,  typist,  departmental  clerk, 
expert  counter,  statistician,  translator,  librarian,  fore- 
woman, superintendent,  inspector.  Pay  for  women  is  al- 
most always  more  than  for  similar  work  elsewhere.  The 
following  table  will  give  you  some  idea  of  the  difference: 

Positions  of 

manual  skill  Clerical  Executive 

Government    .  .      $9.00  to  $15.00  to  $1,600  to 

$18.00  a  week.     $30.00  a  week.     $2,000  a  year. 

Elsewhere    $(5.00  to  $10.00  to  $1,200  to 

$10.00  a  week.     $15.00  a  week.     $1,500  a  year. 

The  hours  for  women  are  good,  they  are  well  treated,  and 
work  under  pleasant  conditions. 

To  sum  up,  much  of  the  government  service  demands 
the  sort  of  skill  and  training  that  is  demanded  in  other 
occupations.  These  requirements  will  be  discussed  as 
we  go  on  with  our  course.  Full  information  along  any 
particular  line  may  be  obtained  by  writing  to  headquar- 
ters. Civil  service  laws  have  done  much  to  make  sta- 
bility of  pay  and  tenure  of  office  secure.  The  lines  that 
are  particularly  different  from  other  businesses  are  the 
army,  the  navy,  and  the  consular  service.  Hut  all  lines 
of  service  for  the  state,  whether  they  be  the  post-office,  civil 


30  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

service,  the  army  and  navy,  judgeship,  or  the  consular  serv- 
ice, make  in  a  way  a  foundation  upon  which  all  the  great 
occupations  are  built  and  because  of  which  they  are  pos- 
sible. 

EXERCISES 

1.  a.  Make  a  list  of  as  many  positions  in  government  service  as 
you  can  think  of.  b.  Check  tliose  in  which  you  think  you  might 
succeed,  c.  Check  those  which  you  think  help  out  in  the  work  of 
your  community. 

2.  Give  three  illustrations  of  the  statement  that  persons  in  govern- 
ment service  must  be  exact. 

3.  Why  are  examinations  required  before  one  may  have  a  civil 
service  position?  What  is  this  system  of  appointment  called?  On 
what  basis  were  positions  filled  before  it  was  adopted? 

4  Study  a  Manual  of  Examinations,  and  then  write  an  account 
of  the  proceedings  of  a  boy  who  has  determined  to  be  a  post-office 
clerk. 

5.  From  the  same  manual  and  also  from  the  notices  posted  in  your 
local  post-office,  decide  for  what  sort  of  positions  there  is  the  greatest 
demand. 

6.  What  is  meant  by  a  political  career?  How  do  men  usually  en- 
ter it?     Do  women  ever  do  anything  of  this  sort? 

7.  Find  out  about  some  special  work  that  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture does  for  the  country,  and  be  ready  to  tell  about  it  in  class. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Leupp,  Francis  E.  Hoic  to  Prepare  for  a  Civil  Service  Examination. 
Hinds,  Noble,  and  Eldridge,  1899. 

Foltz,  E.  B.  K.  The  Federal  Civil  Service  as  a  Career.  G.  P.  Put- 
nam's Sons,    1000. 

Manual  of  Examinations.  United  States  Civil  Service  Commission. 
Washington,  D.  C. 

Report  of  United  States  Civil  Service  Commission,  Washington,  D.  C. 


CHAPTER  III 

EARTH  OCCUPATIONS 

Now  that  we  have  had  a  glance  at  the  great  machinery 
of  government  that  protects  and  backs  our  industries,  let 
us  look  at  a  series  of  fundamental  occupations  that  seem 
necessary  to  the  very  existence  of  any  people.  First  of 
all,  we  shall  consider  the  one  group  that  is  absolutely  in- 
dispensable, namely,  the  earth  occupations.  The  name 
defines  itself;  it  refers  to  those  occupations  in  which  the 
products,  though  given  to  us  generously  from  the  earth,  are 
obtained  and  vastly  improved  by  man's  hands  and  brains. 
These  include  agriculture,  forestry,  mining,  and  fisheries. 
This  group  employs  more  people  than  any  other;  the  1910 
census  report  tells  us  that  there  are  engaged  in  agriculture, 
forestry,  and  mining  over  thirteen  and  a  half  million  peo- 
ple. This  means  over  a  third  of  those  engaged  in  gainful 
occupations.  So  judging  from  the  number  of  people  that 
it  takes  to  obtain  and  perfect  these  earth  materials,  this 
group  of  occupations  is  of  vast  importance.  It  would 
seem  almost  fair  to  call  it  the  main  business  of  the 
American  people.  Of  its  four  branches,  agriculture  in- 
cluding forestry,  is  the  most  important.  Even  under  the 
term,  agriculture,  we  include  many  specialties,  such  as 
farming,  dairying,  floriculture,  stock-raising,  poultry  rais- 
ing, market  gardening,  and  fruit  growing.  So  impor- 
tant is  the  scientific  development  of  this  industry  consid- 
ered, that  the  President  of  the  United  States  has  in  his 
cabinet  a  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  a  dignity  that  is  en- 
joyed by  no  other  occupation. 

31 


32  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

AGRICULTURE 

Why,  aside  from  the  number  of  people  that  it  employs, 
is  the  business  of  farming  so  important?  In  the  patri- 
otic appeal  of  1!»17  when  we  entered  the  war,  we  heard 
as  much  about  the  call  to  farms  as  of  the  call  to  arms. 
People  were  urged  to  have  miniature  farms  in  their  own 
yards,  schools  used  vacant  fields,  and  railways  gave  land 
near  their  tracks,  all  to  increase  this  tremendous  occu- 
pation. But  when  we  consider  that  it  means  the  feed- 
ing of  over  a  hundred  million  of  our  own  people,  the 
production  of  material  from  which  our  clothing  and 
dwellings  are  made,  the  supplying  of  much  of  the  raw 
material  for  the  manufacturer  and  of  products  which  keep 
alive  the  business  of  transportation,  when  we  consider 
these  things,  the  earth  occupations  seem  to  us  almost  colos- 
sal. Take  the  agricultural  branch  of  this  industry,  and 
let  us  consider  what  sort  of  people  could  well  go  into  it  for 
a  life  work,  what  opportunities  it  offers  both  for  the  pres- 
ent and  for  the  future,  and  what  arc  the  advantages  and 
disadvantages  experienced  by  those  who  have  tried  it. 

Qualifications 

In  general,  we  might  say  that  one  going  into  agricul- 
tural life  should  have  the  following  tendencies: 

1.  He  should  be  of  an  active  and  practical  temperament, 
and  should  belong  with  those  people  who  can  do  things 
with  their  hands.  On  the  farm,  man  meets  problems  at 
first  hand.  En  spite  of  the  recent  scientific  discoveries, 
he  is  in  reality  wrestling  with  nature  and  must  be  able  to 
manage  situations  that  he  will  not  find  described  in 
books. 

2.  He  should  enjoy  working  with  nature,  particularly  in 
such  matters  as  tilling  the  soil  and  caring  for  crops;  lie 
should  have  a  liking  for  animals  and  be  able  to  get  the 


EARTH    OCCUPATIONS  33 

best  results  from  them;  and,  a  quality  that  goes  with  both 
of  these,  he  should  love  out-of-door  life.  The  whole  type 
of  life  is  so  entirely  different  from  that  lived  in  the  cities, 
in  offices,  and  in  factories,  that  one  who  has  not  been 
brought  up  on  a  farm  should  be  very  sure  that  he  would 
fit  into  the  actual  outdoor  work  before  he  undertakes  it. 
A  boy  who  lived  in  Chicago  and  helped  to  support  himself 
by  selling  newspapers,  had  an  opportunity  to  work  on  a 
ranch  in  the  West.  It  seemed  to  him  that  it  would  be 
bliss;  he  was  strong  and  could  stand  the  work;  had  manual 
skill  and  surpassed  all  on  the  ranch  in  building  sheds  and 
making  fences.  He  was,  however,  lacking  in  one  impor- 
tant point;  he  did  not  know  how7  to  manage  animals,  he 
lost  his  temper  and  beat  and  injured  so  many  of  the 
cattle  and  poultry  that  he  finally  was  dismissed  and  had 
to  go  into  some  other  sort  of  work. 

3.  He  should  be  able  to  do  hard  physical  work.  While 
outdoor  life  is  healthful,  vet  one  who  is  not  accustomed  to 
this  sort  of  work  is  likely  to  find  it  too  much  for  him.  The 
boy  who  has  been  raised  on  the  farm  and  who  wishes  to 
remain  in  that  occupation  doubtless  has  naturally  these 
three  characteristics;  but  the  city  or  town  boy  must  give 
conscious  attention  to  them,  and  must  be  quite  sure  before 
undertaking  this  entirely  new  life.  One  town  bred  boy 
was  so  much  interested  in  the  high  school  courses  in  agri- 
culture, that  he  went  to  the  state  university  to  prepare 
to  be  a  farmer.  Circumstances  forced  him  to  leave  col- 
lege in  the  spring  so  he  got  work  on  a  farm  in  order  to 
try  out  his  adaptability.  Before  the  summer  was  over 
he  had  decided  that  farm  life  was  not  for  him,  so  he  went 
into  quite  a  different  line  of  work. 

So  much  for  the  qualifications  that  are  distinct  from 
those  required  by  other  occupations.  In  common  with 
certain  others  he  should  have  also  the  following: 


34  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

4.  He  should  be  interested  in  machinery  and,  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  in  engineering.  On  account  of  the  use  of 
machinery  there  has  been  a  decrease  in  the  amount  of 
farm  labor  demanded.  But  the  fewer  men  employed  must 
be  better  able  to  understand  and  use  farm  implements  and 
machinery.  It  is  said  that  in  the  last  fifty  years,  particu- 
larly in  the  production  of  grain,  the  saving  in  the  cost 
of  labor  per  year  has  reached  $681,000,000.  Moreover  the 
number  of  people  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  is  likely 
to  decrease  still  more.  Men  who  would  succeed  must  un- 
derstand many  mechanical  problems.  While  professional 
engineers  will  put  in  systems  of  irrigation,  will  plan  silos, 
machinery,  smudging  outfits,  these  things  must  be  main- 
tained and  improved  upon  by  the  farmer  himself,  and  so  a 
mechanical  turn  will  stand  him  in  good  stead. 

5.  If  he  is  to  own  or  operate  a  farm  himself,  he  must 
have  the  ability  to  manage  men.  We  shall  find  in  every 
occupation  that  this  is  a  necessary  quality  for  the  man  at 
the  top.  Perhaps  it  is  a  quality  that  it  is  not  so  neces- 
sary to  decide  upon  at  the  outset ;  for  into  whatever  busi- 
ness you  enter,  you  will  start  as  one  who  obeys  orders,  and 
it  is  only  thus  that  you  will  learn  whether  you  have  the 
ability  to  direct  others.  However,  while  in  other  lines, 
one  rises  rather  slowly  until  he  is  appointed  or  elected  to 
an  executive  position,  in  farming,  it  is  a  matter  of  get- 
ting enough  capital  together  to  own  or  rent  a  farm.  The 
farmer  is  thus  likely  to  be  obliged  to  manage  men  sooner 
than  those  engaged  in  other  lines  of  work. 

6.  lie  must  be  a  good  business  manager,  for  he  must 
find  out  the  best  way  of  selling  his  crops,  taking  into  ac- 
count his  access  to  the  market.  Indeed,  the  farmer  must 
be  a  sort  of  cost  accountant,  who  is  able  to  figure  what  it 
costs  him  to  raise  a  certain  commodity,  including  labor, 
machinery,  taxes,  improvements,  seed,  and  transportation 


EARTH    OCCUPATIONS  35 

to  the  market.  In  this  day  of  cooperation,  farmers  are 
organizing'  for  the  transportation  and  sale  of  their  pro- 
ducts. For  example,  in  the  towns  of  Southern  California, 
yon  will  see  orange  packing  houses  to  which  the  orange 
men  send  their  fruit  and  where  it  is  washed,  sorted, 
packed,  and  shipped.  The  profit  is  divided  pro  rata,  and 
the  hnsiness  is  conducted  in  a  better  way  than  it  possibly 
could  he  by  one  man.  No  matter  what  phenomenal  success 
a  farmer  may  have,  if  he  has  access  to  a  poor  market  only 
he  has  wasted  time  and  money. 

Preparation 

In  going  into  this  work  today,  a  scientific  training  is 
decidedly  needed.  If  possible  one  should  get  a  college 
training  in  scientific  agriculture,  horticulture,  stock  rais- 
ing, or  in  the  particular  line  which  one  desires  to  enter. 
This  is  the  day  of  scientific  farming  and  one  needs  the 
best  training  before  he  can  hope  to  succeed.  A  great  ad- 
vantage of  a  college  training  is  that  by  living  and  working 
where  many  branches  of  agriculture  are  taught,  one  may 
find  out  whether  or  not  he  is  inclined  to  any  specialized 
form. 

Although  the  college  training  is  by  far  the  best  prepara- 
tion, one  who  cannot  afford  that  can  gain  much  by  read- 
ing the  agricultural  papers,  attending  Farmers'  Institutes, 
and  attending  the  short  courses  that  are  given  for  the  bene- 
fit of  farmers  in  all  state  agricultural  schools. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  farmers  are  naturally  con- 
servative and  that  many  of  long  experience  scorn  what 
they  call  the  book  learning  of  the  schools.  But  the  day 
has  come  when  most  farmers  realize  that  the  one  who 
gets  ahead  must  have  a  scientific  training,  and  those  who 
do  not  realize  it  are  falling  behind  in  the  race.  It  is  the 
men  with  training  whose  hens  lay  the  most  eggs,  whose 


36  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

beets  yield  the  most  sugar,  whose  plants  and  trees  are 
saved  from  blight  and  pests,  whose  corn  yields  the  most 
to  the  acre.  Some  authorities  say  that  besides  scientific 
training  a  farmer  should  have  manual  training.  Certain 
it  is  that  there  are  a  thousand  and  one  things  that  he  must 
be  able  to  do  with  his  hands  and  he  will  find  that  a  natural 
and  developed  manual  skill  is  a  great  asset. 

Opportunities  and  Advantages 

There  seems  to  be  ample  opportunity  at  least  to  get 
started  in  farming.  At  many  seasons  "  extra  men  "  are 
wanted,  and  farmers  are  glad  to  employ  even  inexperi- 
enced laborers.  Then  a  man  who  could  prove  his  worth 
would  have  no  trouble  in  getting  permanent  work  in  some 
kind  of  farming,  in  some  part  of  the  country.  In  talking 
to  a  number  of  the  farmers  of  Illinois,  we  have  learned  the 
following  in  regard  to  the  wTages  in  that  part  of  the  coun- 
try. The  average  farmer  pays  to  boys  at  the  beginning 
about  $25.00  per  month;  this  is  increased  each  year  at  the 
rate  of  $2.50  per  month.  This  pay  is  not  so  low  as  it 
seems  when  we  consider  that  it  includes  the  regular  living 
expenses.  Young  men  starting  out  are  tempted  to  spend 
this  amount  for  amusements  and  luxuries,  but  if  they  are 
willing  to  save,  in  five  or  six  years  they  could  lay  aside 
$1000  or  more.  With  that  amount  if  a  young  man  had 
established  a  good  reputation,  he  might  be  able  to  start 
on  a  farm  of  his  own.  This  is  what  some  farmers  say; 
others  think  that  he  would  better  wait  ten  years  longer 
or  until  he  had  accumulated  a  capital  of  about  $4000, 
when  he  could  start  rather  comfortably  on  a  farm  of  eighty 
acres.  One  man  added  to  his  list  of  necessary  require- 
ments:    "  A  good  wife  and  good  health." 

From  the  report  of  the  agricultural  survey  of  Tomp- 
kins Co.,  New  York,  it  appears  that  the  college  graduates 


EARTH    OCCUPATIONS 


37 


working  on  farms  receive  higher  wages  than  the  high  school 
graduates,  and  high  school  graduates  higher  than  those 
from  the  grammar  school.  Experience  in  other  places  is 
consistent  with  this  report,  so  that  ii'  possible  to  do  so,  it 
would  seem  to  pay  financially  to  get  a  thorough  prepara- 
tion before  starting. 

You  can  see  that  working  on  a  farm  as  a  laborer  for 
wages  would  not  pay  for  any  great  length  of  time.  It  is 
merely  a  way  for  a  young  man  to  get  a  start.  With  the 
necessary  training  and  a  little  capital,  the  average  man 
will  make  a  good  living  at  farming,  even  if  he  does  not  lay 
up  a  great  sum  besides.  The  specially  able  farmer  will 
reap  a  rich  return  from  his  labors.  A  great  deal  depends 
upon  raising  the  right  crop  in  the  right  place.  There  is  a 
famous  apple  orchard  on  a  ridge  in  Virginia  which  was 
planted  fifty  years  ago.  iSTo  one  had  thought  that  this 
particular  place  was  good  for  raising  apples,  but  this  or- 
chard grew  and  flourished,  until  now  it  has  brought  in 
many  thousands  of  dollars.  When  the  success  of  this  one 
was  seen,  other  farmers  began  planting  orchards,  and 
that  part  of  the  country  has  become  famous  for  its  apples. 

Again,  the  successful  farmer  must  know  how  to  use  every 
acre  to  the  best  advantage,  and  how  best  to  dispose  of  his 
products.  For  instance,  much  of  the  grain,  particularly 
the  corn,  that  is  raised  is  sold  not  as  grain  but  as  meat. 
The  farmer  has  learned  that  he  can  make  more  by  raising 
cattle,  feeding  them  well  on  his  grain,  and  then  selling 
them  as  live  stock  to  the  packers. 

A  good  deal  of  money  has  been  made  from  raising  poul- 
try. But  seldom  does  a  farmer  go  into  that  business  ex- 
clusively. Only  in  the  last  few  years,  are  they  begin- 
ning to  realize  that  much  money  can  be  made  by  paying 
especial  attention  to  this  industry.  In  1911,  the  eggs  and 
poultry  raised  in  the  United  States  were  wrorth  $750,000,- 


129824 


38  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

000.  To  quote  ,T.  Russell  Smith  :  "  Hence  the  output  of 
the  poultry  yard  is  more:  valuable  than  all  the  gold  and  iron 
produced  in  the  United  States.  .  .  .  The  application  of 
the  laws  of  animal  breeding  and  feeding  causes  large  in- 
crease in  the  average  egg  output.  The  average  egg  pro- 
duction from  our  300,000,000  hens  is  about  80  per  hen 
per  year.  Test  pens  of  fowls  given  special  care  have 
averaged  240.''  This  will  give  some  idea  of  the  oppor- 
tunity in  just  this  one  line  for  the  trained  farmer. 

But  aside  from  owning  his  farm,  there  is  another  open- 
ing for  the  trained  agriculturist.  .Many  experts  are  em- 
ployed as  managers  of  creameries  or  of  farms  or  ranches 
belonging  to  wealthy  persons.  These  are  paid  well,  often 
from  $2000  to  $10,000  a  year.  A  young  man  just  grad- 
uating from  a  college  of  agriculture  was  put  in  charge  of 
a  large  stock  farm,  which  he  managed  excellently.  In  a 
few  years  he  was  able  to  own  a  farm,  well  stocked  with  a 
fine  breed  of  cattle. 

Again,  there  are  many  specialties  connected  with  farm 
life,  and  one  going  into  general  farming  can  often  find 
out  for  what  particular  line  he  is  fitted.  For  instance, 
one  young  man  after  receiving  his  training  started  out 
on  a  large  cattle  ranch.  There  he  soon  learned  that  he 
was  especially  interested  in  veterinary  surgery,  and  that 
with  adequate  preparation,  he  would  have  no  difficulty  in 
getting  all  the  work  that  he  could  do.  Accordingly  he 
went  to  the  city  and  took  a  three  years'  course  in  that 
line.  After  that  he  moved  to  a  small  town  within  reach 
of  several  ranches  and  has  now  developed  a  large  prac- 
tice. 

Already  in  connection  with  government  service,  we 
have  spoken  of  the  demand  for  scientific  experts  in  agri- 
culture. The  Department  of  Agriculture  is  constantly 
distributing  information  in  regard   to  new  devices   and 


EARTH    OCCUPATIONS  39 

methods  in  farming,  and  farmers  in  all  parts  of  the 
country  may  write  for  and  obtain  advice  free  of  charge. 
There  are  in  many  parts  of  the  country  experimental 
farms,  managed  and  developed  by  experts.  In  some  states, 
a  whole  county  will  employ  an  expert,  wdio  has  an  office  in 
one  of  the  larger  towns,  and  gives  his  entire  time  to  ad- 
vising and  furthering  the  interests  of  the  farmers  of  that 
district. 

So  to  sum  up,  agriculture  offers  many  openings  for  the 
active,  practical,  healthy  hoy  who  enjoys  outdoor  life,  and 
has  a  liking  for  growing  things. 

But  aside  from  the  point  of  making  a  living  and  even 
more  than  a  living,  what  inducements  does  this  country 
life  hold  forth  ? 

First,  as  it  is  an  outdoor,  active  life,  it  gives  the  basis 
for  good  health.  Indeed,  some  of  the  lighter  occupations, 
such  as  fruit  or  poultry  raising,  are  recommended  for 
those  who  are  not  in  the  best  physical  condition,  for  those, 
for  instance,  who  would  not  thrive  in  offices.  The  out- 
door exercise  gives  a  good  appetite,  and  the  farmer  is 
almost  free  from  the  nervous  tension  and  confinement  of 
the  city. 

Second,  in  a  sense,  the  farmer  is  the  most  independent 
of  men.  lie  is  his  own  master  and  mav  work  according 
to  his  own  rules  and  plans.  He  is  not  tied  down  to  the 
direction  of  others,  but  has  full  scope  for  the  expression 
of  his  individuality.  He  may  experiment  and  use  new 
methods  just  as  far  as  he  himself  thinks  best. 

Third,  he  alternates  periods  of  long  and  strenuous  work 
with  periods  of  light  work,  so  that  at  intervals  he  has 
time  for  outside  interests,  for  reading,  and  recreation. 
And  even  in  the  heavy  season,  there  is  a  great  variety  in 
his  work  so  that  he  need  never  complain  of  monotony. 

Fourth,  farming  by  no  means  belongs  to  the  enervating 


40  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

occupations.  The  man  who  gets  ahead  must  use  his  brains 
and  thus  he  is  bound  to  grow.  Agriculture  is  a  growing 
profession  and  there  seems  no  limit  to  the  improvements 
that  are  ahead  and  to  the  experimenting  in  which  every 
farmer  may  have  his  share.  Some  one  has  spoken  of 
farming  as  "  the  challenge  of  the  difficult  "  and  another 
calls  it  the  "moral  equivalent  of  war."  There  is  a  great 
advantage  in  having  work  that  gives  much  to  overcome 
and  conquer,  and  the  many  problems  that  arise  are  stimu- 
lating to  the  intellect.  But  not  every  farmer  has  the 
energy  or  the  ability  to  take  advantage  of  these  opportuni- 
ties, and  that  is  the  reason  that  so  many  do  not  keep  up 
with  the  procession,  and  that  their  farms  are  run  down  and 
their  methods  out  of  date.  James  J.  Hill  said  that  only 
1  per  cent,  of  the  farmers  of  the  Middle  West  kept  in 
touch  with  progressive  ideas.  Tf  this  is  true,  how  much 
opportunity  must  there  be  for  the  man  who  is  able  and 
willing  to  use  his  mind. 

Suppose  we  look  at  a  few  examples  of  what  science  has 
done  for  agriculture.  Almost  every  one  knows  of  Luther 
Burbank  and  his  experiments  in  plant  life;  how  he  has 
made  a  new  potato,  a  new  berry,  new  oranges  and  many 
other  unexpected  fruits.  Mr.  John  Drydcn,  Chief  of 
the  Department  of  Agriculture  in  Canada,  has  made  a  new 
breed  of  hogs  for  the  purpose  of  getting  more  and  better 
bacon. 

Let  me  quote  a  paragraph  from  a  good  authority  to 
show  how  brains  are  conquering  pests:  "The  history  of 
peach  growing  in  the  Michigan  district  gives  an  excellent 
example  of  the  dependence  of  industry  upon  science.  A 
mysterious,  incurable,  and  fatal  disease  called  '  the  yel- 
lows '  spread  from  tree  to  tree.  Unchecked  it  worked 
destruction  in  the  west  Michigan  peach  belt  and  reduced 
the  number  of  trees  in  one  county  from  600,000  in  1870 


EARTH    OCCUPATIONS  41 

to  30,000  in  1884.  This  reduced  the  value  of  land  to 
$10  or  $20  per  acre  when  it  had  been  worth  from  $50  to 
$100,  and  brought  communities  to  the  verge  of  bank- 
ruptcy. At  this  point  it  was  discovered  at  the  State 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station  that  if  every  tree  hav- 
ing the  yellows  was  removed  when  the  disease  was  first 
discovered,  only  1  or  2  per  cent,  of  the  trees  per  year  would 
be  killed,  and  the  peach  industry  could  thrive.  After 
the  adoption  of  this  precaution  the  county  that  had  but 
30,000  trees  in  1884  had  over  a  million  in  1906,  and 
throughout  the  peach  belt  prosperity  again  prevailed."  l 

In  Illinois,  a  contest  was  held  to  see  what  difference 
it  made  when  the  farmers  carefully  selected  the.  seed  for 
their  corn.  It  was  found  that  the  field  where  that  care 
was  not  taken,  produced  48  bushels  to  the  acre,  while  the 
one  with  the  selected  seed  produced  70  bushels  to  the  acre. 

One  has  but  to  ride  on  the  train  through  Southern 
Arizona  to  get  a  glimpse  of  what  irrigation  has  done. 
For  miles  one  sees  desert  sands  on  which  practically  noth- 
ing can  grow,  relieved  only  by  the  mirage  in  the  distance. 
Suddenly  he  is  in  a  most  fertile  country  with  flourishing 
fields  of  grain  and  orchards  of  fruit  trees.  Cattle  are 
grazing  and  there  are  acres  of  truck  gardens.  This  mir- 
acle has  all  been  wrought  by  irrigation.  Just  out  of  the 
city  is  a  beautiful  ranch,  a  veritable  fairy  land,  where  all 
sorts  of  rare  fruits  and  vegetables  are  growing.  A  man 
who  has  made  his  fortune  in  big  cities  but  who  felt  the 
lure  of  the  country,  is  using  his  brains  and  his  wealth 
to  show  what  can  be  overcome  and  accomplished  on  a 
farm. 

Fifth,  besides  the  stimulus  of  overcoming  difficulties 
and  discovering  new  methods,  the  farmer  may  have  the  in- 
spiration of  feeling  that  he  is  a  part  of  a  great  movement. 

i  From  J.  Russell  Smith,  Commerce  and  Industry. 


42  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

Koosevelt  in  his  administration  appointed  a  Commission 
on  Country  Life,  which  has  made  many  valuable  recom- 
mendations to  Congress.  G.  VV.  Fiske  in  his  Challenge 
of  the  Country  mentions  no  less  than  forty  institutions  for 
the  advantage  of  the  farmer.  At  present,  about  one-third 
of  our  people  are  farmers ;  and  even  though  with  the  in- 
creased use  of  machinery,  this  proportion  should  decrease, 
yet  those  who  remain  will  he  of  weightier  importance 
because  they  must  of  necessity  be  more  skillful  and  better 
trained. 

Disadvantages 

We  learned  at  first  that  every  occupation  had  its  un- 
desirable side,  so  we  must  expect  to  find  that  this  is  also 
true  of  farm  life. 

One  point  you  have  probably  thought  of  already.  That 
is  the  loneliness  of  country  life,  especially  on  the  larger 
farms  and  stock  ranches.  Perhaps  the  farmer's  wife  and 
family,  who  are  not  directly  concerned  with  the  farm 
work,  feel  this  more  than  the  man  himself.  From  the 
point  of  view  of  growth  this  is  a  great  drawback;  for 
we  need  much  contact  with  other  people  for  the  sake  of 
our  mental  development.  And  this  isolation  keeps  one 
away  from  many  means  of  culture  and  entertainment  found 
in  the  cities.  But  you  are  already  prepared  to  answer 
that  this  objection  is  being  more  and  more  overcome  by  the 
modern  conveniences  which  the  farmer  is  using.  Many 
farmers  now  have  their  automobiles  and  telephones; 
roads  are  being  built  and  improved,  rural  delivery  and 
farm  machinery  are  great  helps.  Forty-five  per  cent,  of 
the  students  in  the  Agricultural  College  in  the  University 
of  Illinois  are  from  towns  of  over  5000  inhabitants,  which 
looks  as  if  the  town  boy  must  have  a  good  deal  of  confi- 
dence in  the  improved  comforts  of  farm  life. 

Although    farming  had   always   been   considered   more' 


EARTH    OCCUPATIONS  43 

healthful  than  city  life,  yet  recent  statistics  show  a  better 
physical  condition  in  the  towns  than  in  the  country,  and 
this  too  in  the  very  diseases  that,  fresh  air  would  seem  to 
overcome.  What  does  this  mean!'  In  all  probability, 
simply  that  the  cities  have  found  that  they  must  combat 
illness  bv  making  conditions  more  sanitary,  bv  making  a 
conscious  effort  to  get  fresh  air,  sunshine  and  good  food; 
while  the  country  folk  have  not  all  learned  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  what  is  within  their  reach,  and  often  sleep 
with  their  windows  closed  and  expose  themselves  un- 
necessarily to  disease.  So  this  second  objection  can  also 
be  overcome. 

Next,  there  are  several  things  that  seem  beyond  his 
control  upon  which  the  farmer's  success  is  dependent. 
Often  the  condition  of  the  weather  will  mean  a  big  loss  in 
certain  years.  Too  little  rain,  a  frost  too  late  in  the  spring, 
or  too  early  in  the  fall,  an  untimely  hail  or  wind  storm,  too 
much  rain,  and  many  other  causes  may  mean  a  total  or  a 
large  loss. 

Then,  too,  his  success  depends  upon  the  demand  for 
his  produce.  A  somewhat  remote  but  interesting  example 
of  this  is  that  of  the  esparto  trade  in  North  Africa.  Es- 
parto is  a  tough  grass  which  for  years  was  used  to  make 
a  large  part  of  the  world's  paper.  About  fifty  years  ago, 
we  began  in  this  country  to  make  paper  from  wood  pulp, 
and  now  trees  furnish  most  of  the  material  needed.  This 
discovery  of  course  ruined  the  esparto  trade  and  left  the 
Arabs  who  had  raised  it  without  any  means  of  support. 
This  is  a  remote  case,  but  it,  is  true  that  new  discover- 
ies are  constantly  affecting  the  market  for  certain  com- 
modities. Perishable  foods  may  be  produced  beyond  the 
demand.  In  some  years  tomatoes,  apples,  oranges,  po- 
tatoes have  spoiled  in  immense  amounts  because  the  neigh- 
boring market  was  overstocked.     Then  the  price  obtained 


44  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

also  depends  upon  the  demand.  For  instance,  potatoes 
may  bring  to  the  grower  anything  from  10  cents  to  $1.50  a 
bushel.  So  that  with  all  these  possibilities,  it  is  small 
wonder  that  the  farmer  often  worries  over  the  uncertain- 
ties of  his  business. 

However,  we  shall  find  that  there  are  also  remedies  and 
compensations  for  these  misfortunes.  In  the  California 
orange  groves,  smudge  pots  are  used  to  combat  the  frosts. 
Then,  while  there  is  a  possibility  of  two  or  even  three 
bad  years  in  succession,  it  is  almost  never  more  than 
this  and  if  judgment  is  used  in  planting  those  crops  that 
are  suitable  to  the  climate,  the  chances  are  very -favorable 
that  the  good  years  will  outweigh  the  bad  years.  Indeed, 
there  are  farmers  who  have  become  wealthy  in  a  very  few 
years  because  of  unusually  good  crops  and  good  prices. 
As  to  the  overstocking  of  the  local  markets,  that  is  being 
balanced  by  the  use  of  refrigerator  cars,  which  makes  pos- 
sible the  transportation  of  products  to  greater  distances. 
Also  the  development  in  canning  and  drying  processes  is 
helping  to  overcome  the  waste. 

Another  drawback  that  often  hinders  boys  from  con- 
sidering the  farming  business  is  the  need  of  capital. 
The  farm  laborer's  job  is  not  one  that  the  ambitious  boy 
would  care  to  consider  as  permanent.  If  he  plans  beyond 
this  he  must  in  some  way  get  money  to  invest.  We  spoke 
before  of  the  possibility  of  saving  an  amount.  But  to  do 
this  a  boy  must  realize  that  he  will  go  a  long  time  without 
ready  money  to  spend.  Even  after  he  is  started  he  will 
have  to  invest  a  large  share  of  his  earnings  in  improve- 
ments and  machinery.  The  boy  who  is  going  into  perma- 
nent farming  should  either  be  ambitious  and  thrifty  enough 
to  save  his  own  capital  or,  if  his  father  is  a  farmer,  should 
have  prospects  of  stepping  into  his  business  before  many 


EARTH    OCCUPATIONS  45 

years,  or  should  have  some  other  menus  of  getting  capital. 

These  disadvantages  are  real  and  should  be  faced  before 
deciding  on  a  life  work,  hut  on  the  other  hand,  as  we  have 
seen,  they  are  not  insuperable. 

Xow  as  to  the  opportunity  for  women  in  this  work. 
Many  women  have  made  good  in  specialized  lines,  such 
as  poultry  raising,  market  gardening,  flower  culture.  One 
woman  made  a  good  living  by  raising  violets;  another 
devoted  her  attention  to  cultivating  large  and  fine  varieties 
of  certain  vegetables,  such  as  tomatoes,  potatoes,  and  peas ; 
while  still  another  went  to  California  and  had  good  success 
with  an  orange  grove.  While  women  seem  best  adapted 
to  such  specialized  lines,  they  have  also  shown  themselves 
capable  of  larger  farming.  One  young  woman  just  out 
of  college  recently  took  up  a  land  claim  in  Montana.  She 
built  a  little  shack  and  showed  great  courage  in  starting 
out  on  her  own  responsibility.  Most  of  the  time  she  was 
able  to  hire  one  or  two  helpers,  but  she  herself  superin- 
tended the  breaking  of  her  land,  and  the  planting  and 
harvesting  of  her  wheat.  In  the  second  year,  she  had  a 
large  harvest,  and  is  now  making  a  good  success.  So  it 
looks  as  if  the  women  with  courage  could  start  out  and 
do  things  in  this  line  as  well  as  in  the  many  others  which 
they  are  undertaking  in  these  days. 

To  sum  up :  there  is  no  occupation  more  important  than 
farming.  A  young  man  with  the  natural  inclination  and 
energy  needed  for  that  sort  of  work,  with  the  instincts  of 
a  manager,  and  with  good  courage,  one  who  is  willing  to 
sacrifice  a  few  comforts  and  to  wait  for  the  necessary  edu- 
cation, will  find  agriculture  an  inspiring,  healthful  occu- 
pation. Here  he  will  meet  nature  at  first  hand,  and  will 
help  to  solve  perhaps  the  most  vital  problem  of  the  nation, 
that  of  its  food  supply. 


46  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

FORESTRY 

An  earth  occupation  closely  allied  to  agriculture  is  for- 
estry. There  is  this  difference:  that  nature  gave  us  a 
big  start  in  the  matter  of  forests  and  our  part  of  the 
problem  is  only  just  beginning.  If  you  should  drive 
through  some  of  our  great  western  wooded  country,  you 
might  be  surprised  to  see  the  stumps  of  many  immense 
trees  and  the  thick  but  extremely  slender  second  growth. 
This  is  one  of  the  signs  of  the  careless  lumbering  work 
that  was  done  in  early  days.  It  was  not  until  about  the 
year  1900  that  we  began  to  realize  that  this  wasteful 
process  could  not  go  on  indefinitely.  Since  that  time  we 
have  begun  to  see  that  we  must  learn  from  the  experience 
of  Europe,  where,  years  ago,  lumber  became  scarce  and 
expensive,  and  every  effort  had  to  be  made  to  preserve 
and  increase  it.  There  is  a  big  problem  before  us  now  in 
finding  the  economical  way  of  cutting  the  trees  so  as  not 
to  harm  the  young  growth.  The  forests  must  be  preserved 
from  fire  and  blight  and  the  depleted  places  must  be  re- 
forested. Private  owners,  even  though  four  fifths  of 
the  timber  lands  is  in  their  hands,  have  not  yet  waked 
up  to  this  necessity.  There  are  exceptions  to  this  in  the 
cases  of  certain  industries  that  are  dependent  upon  a 
continued  supply  of  wood  from  a  particular  district.  For 
instance,  paper  mills  which  cannot  be  moved  from  place 
to  place  must  see  to  it  that  their  forests  are  preserved  in 
order  that  their  supply  of  wood  pulp  may  not  fail. 

Here  again  is  one  of  the  many  places  in  which  we  shall 
learn  how  the  work  of  the  government  does  underlie  every- 
thing else.  For  it  is  the  government  that  up  to  this  time 
has  done  most  of  the  work  in  technical  forestry.  As  trees 
will  grow  in  almost  any  kind  of  soil  and  temperature,  so 


EARTH    OCCUPATIONS  47 

long-  as  they  have  a  good  supply  of  moisture,  the  govern- 
ment has  planted  forests  in  places  that  are  unsuitable  for 
agriculture.  In  California  alone,  (hose  national  forests 
cover  43,000  square  miles.  Ninety-five  per  cent,  of  the 
trained  foresters  at  the  present  time  have  been  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  government.  Let  us  see  just  briefly  what  sort 
of  men  are  wanted  for  this  work. 

Qualifications 

1.  They  must  be  men  who  are  willing  to  endure  physical 
hardships,  for  a  large  proportion  of  their  time  must  be 
spent  literally  in  the  woods  and  away  from  the  comforts 
of  home.  For  this  reason  the  forester  must  have  good 
health.  As  he  advances  in  his  profession,  he  will  prob- 
ably spend  more  time  in  his  office,  but  he  will  always  be 
obliged  to  live  at  a  distance  from  the  big  cities. 

2.  The  forester  must  also  have  a  good  intellect.  While 
there  may  *be  times  when  physical  work  is  necessary,  that 
is  not  the  technical  man's  main  business.  He  will  have 
problems  to  work  out  for  the  particular  section  for  which 
he  is  responsible  and  there  will  be  many  questions  which 
he  will  have  to  decide. 

3.  As  in  many  other  lines  of  work,  the  man  who  wants 
to  rise  must  have  executive  ability.  He  will  have  for- 
esters working  under  him  whom  he  must  be  able  to  man- 
age; and  he  must  be  able  to  look  after  all  the  details  and 
see  that  they  work  together  to  his  great  end  of  preserving 
the  forests  and  getting  the  greatest  possible  production 
from  them. 

4.  In  the  present  state  of  development,  he  must  also 
be  able  to  give  to  the  public  what  he  has  learned.  As 
a  government  employee,  he  may  be  called  upon  to  make 
addresses  or  to  write  articles  for  +he  purpose  of  stirring 


48  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

up  public  sentiment.  For  this  purpose  he  should  be  able 
to  express  in  clear  and  concise  English  what  he  has 
worked  out  in  his  private  investigations. 

Preparation 

This  occupation  does  not  differ  from  all  the  others  in 
demanding  more  and  more  training  as  time  goes  on. 
Less  than  twenty  years  ago,  there  was  only  one  school 
of  forestry  in  the  country;  now  there  are  twenty-two 
which  give  a  degree  and  forty  others  which  include  for- 
estry in  the  course  of  study.  It  is  desirable  to  have  four 
years'  technical  training  in  college  and  of  course  this  de- 
mands for  entrance  a  four  years'  high  school  course. 
Some  particularly  ambitious  foresters  take  post  graduate 
work  in  Europe  where  somewhat  different  theories  have 
been  worked  out. 

Opportunities 

As  was  said  at  first,  the  majority  of  these  positions  are 
with  the  government.  These  are  entered  through  the  civil 
service  examinations.  There  is  a  practical  examination 
given  for  the  forest  rangers.  These  are  guards  employed 
to  protect  the  forest  against  fire  and  other  damages.  Their 
salaries  run  from  $000  to  $1500  a  year. 

There  are  next  the  technical  examinations  from  which 
are  filled  the  following  positions.  The  government  owns 
over  162,000,000  acres  of  forest  land.  Over  this  entire 
problem  there  are  administrative  officers  who  receive  from 
$2000  to  $3750  a  year.  The  forest  land  is  divided  into 
districts  over  each  of  which  is  a  supervisor  who  receives 
from  $1400  to  $2700  a  year.  Then  there  are  the  techni- 
cally trained  men  or  forest  examiners  who  are  paid  from 
$1100  to  $2200. 

In  the  federal  work  there   is   likely  to  be  room  for 


EARTH    OCCUPATIONS  49 

about  twenty  new  men  a  year;  in  the  state  work,  less 
has  been  done  and  there  is  a  greater  opportunity;  while 
in  private  lands  there  are  likely  to  be  still  more  open- 
ings. The  big  lumber  companies,  paper  companies,  rail- 
ways, and  water  companies,  all  own  large  forest  dis- 
tricts. As  trained  foresters  show  their  ability  and  what 
they  can  accomplish  by  their  methods  there  will  be  more 
and  more  demand  for  them. 

There  is  also  a  field  on  the  government  land  in  Indian 
reservations  and  in  National  Parks.  As  the  consulting 
engineer  has  been  found  necessary,  so  there  is  likely  to  be 
a  future  for  the  expert  as  consulting  forester.  Work  for 
the  preservation  and  cultivation  of  forests  will  probably 
increase  as  the  years  go  by.  For  although  steel,  cement, 
and  other  building  materials  are  supplanting  wood  in  cer- 
tain lines,  yet  there  are  constantly  new  inventions  for 
which  it  is  used.  Besides  the  uses  that  we  ordinarily  con- 
sider, there  are  also  by-products ;  such  as,  turpentine,  resin, 
tan-bark,  and  paper.  Here  again  we  see  another  way  in 
which  our  forests  have  been  wasted.  The  careless  process 
by  which  turpentine  and  resin  have  been  secured  has  left 
many  trees  with  such  a  large  opening  by  which  the  sap 
might  escape  that  they  have  "  bled  to  death  "  in  a  few 
years.  Also  this  drying  process  has  left  them  an  easy  prey 
to  fire  and  wind.  So  here  is  another  bit  of  work  for  those 
interested  in  the  conservation  of  our  forests. 

There  is  connected  with  forestry  another  line  of  work 
that  might  appeal  to  the  young  man  starting  out  in  life. 
I  refer  to  the  work  that  is  called  "  logging  "  in  the  lumber 
camps.  This  is  strenuous  physical  work,  and  with  it  are 
joined  many  hardships;  but  it  develops  sturdy  charac- 
teristics in  those  who  can  endure  the  strain.  Men  who 
are  employed  on  farms  in  the  busy  seasons,  often  get  work 
in  these  lumber  camps  in  the  winter.     One  of  our  citizens 


50  VOCATIONAL,    CIVICS 

of  large  achievement  worked  when  a  young  man  for  several 
winters  at  logging  because  his  health  demanded  a  change 
from  indoor  confinement.  The  men  who  make  this  their 
habitual  work  are  likely  to  become  very  independent  and 
rather  hard  to  control.  This  indicates  another  opening 
for  the  man  who  is  peculiarly  gifted  in  managing  men. 

MINING 

Aside  from  the  work  of  unskilled  laborers,  mining 
might  properly  be  discussed  under  the  head  of  engineer- 
ing, for  it  is  the  mining  engineer  who  tests  the  metal 
and  decides  whether  the  mine  is  worth  working.  From 
that  time  on  he  is  needed  to  the  end  of  the  process.  We 
take  up  the  subject  here  because  it  is  one  of  the  earth 
occupations.  Just  as  the  farmer  and  the  forester  are 
cultivating  our  natural  resources  and  sending  their  pro- 
ducts to  the  factory,  to  the  dealer  and  finally  to  the  people, 
so  the  miner  is  delving  into  the  earth  and  finding  ma- 
terials that  are  increasing  the  wealth  of  the  nation.  Ac- 
cording to  the  census  of  1910,  there  were  964,824  people 
in  the  United  States  engaged  in  this  industry.  You  may 
be  surprised  to  learn  that  1094  of  these  were  women. 
Valuable,  however,  as  the  products  of  the  mine  are,  the 
farmer  still  holds  a  higher  place  than  the  miner  in  the 
worth  of  his  output.  We  are  told  that  the  result  of  the 
mining  industry  in  the  whole  world  is  worth  only  one-half 
of  the  production  of  the  farms  in  the  United  States  alone. 
Perhaps  the  ease  with  which  the  "  forty-niners  "  obtained 
gold  in  California  or  the  hordes  that  went  to  the  Klon- 
dike about  the  beginning  of  this  century  panned  it  out, 
has  made  the  chances  to  make  money  from  mines  seem  more 
than  they  are.  The  trouble  is  that  when  the  or|  from  the 
mine  is  gone  there  is  no  way  of  replenishing  it,  while  the 


EARTH    OCCUPATIONS  51 

farmer  with  his  many  resources  can  bring  forth  crops  al- 
most without  limit. 

And  yet  there  is  a  tremendous  value  in  our  mines  and 
in  the  industries  that  are  dependent  upon  them.  Without 
iron,  which  is  found  in  deposits  of  iron  ore,  and  steel, 
which  is  made  from  iron,  there  would  be  little  left  of  the 
manufacturing  business ;  for  the  manufacturers  depend 
upon  these  for  their  very  machinery  with  which  they 
work,  and  many  of  their  products  are  made  from  this  ma- 
terial. Copper,  lead,  aluminum,  silver,  gold  all  have 
their  very  important  places  in  our  industrial  world,  while 
in  this  discussion  we  shall  have  to  include  stone  quar- 
ries and  lime  pits.  The  earth  gives  us  countless  materi- 
als with  which  to  work.  You  do  not  need  to  be  told  how 
important  a  product  of  our  mines  coal  is.  Here  as  in 
the  case  of  the  forests,  it  has  taken  us  a  long  time  to  learn 
the  lesson  of  conservation.  For  example  when  anthra- 
cite coal  was  first  mined,  only  the  best  was  used  and  about 
70  per  cent,  was  wasted.  jSTow  we  have  waked  up  to  the 
extent  of  learning  howr  to  save  60  per  cent. 

Qualifications 

One  who  is  going  into  the  business  of  mining  in  al- 
most any  capacity  must  be  willing  to  do  hard  work  in 
lonely  places  where  it  is  impossible  to  keep  his  face  and 
hands  clean.  Even  the  engineer  who  has  had  college 
training  may  be  obliged  to  do  hard  manual  work  at  certain 
seasons.  Mines  are  necessarily  situated  in  lonely  places, 
far  off  in  the  mountains  or  perhaps  in  the  cold  regions 
like  Alaska.  If  you  cannot  stand  the  loneliness  or  the 
dirt,  do  not  undertake  it.  In  a  large  mine  there  is  division 
of  labor;  such  as  the  laboratory  work,  work  with  machin- 
ery, and  much  underground  work  down  in  the  mine.  A 
few  chemists  may  never  be  obliged  to  go  into  the  mine 


52  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

itself;  but  the  successful  engineer  with  courage  and 
energy  will  want  to  experience  every  phase  of  the  work. 
One  young  Harvard  graduate  came  to  the  coal  mines  of 
Illinois  and  began  literally  at  the  bottom  that  he  might 
learn  the  whole  business  thoroughly.  He  began  400  feet 
below  the  surface  of  the  earth  loading  ore  into  the  cars 
with  his  shovel,  working  in  dangerous  places,  with  for- 
eigners who  could  not  speak  English  for  his  companions. 
In  this  case  the  miners  did  what  was  called  piece  work 
and  a  good  workman  could  get  about  $2.25  a  day.  The 
story  of  this  man's  experience  gives  a  good  idea  of  the 
qualities  desirable  in  a  miner. 

Preparation 

As  we  have  implied,  if  he  is  going  to  do  more  than  the 
hardest  unskilled  manual  labor,  the  boy  interested  in 
mines  must  have  a  thorough  training  in  a  technical  school. 
These  schools  are  of  the  same  grade  as  any  college  and  re- 
quire a  four-year  high  school  course  for  entrance.  The 
course  itself  takes  four  years  and  in  it  there  are  several  dif- 
ferent phases  of  mining  from  which  one  can  choose  his 
specialty.  Some  of  the  subjects  in  which  a  mining  en- 
gineer is  supposed  to  specialize  are:  mechanics,  physics, 
mineralogy,  chemistry,  metallurgy,  mathematics,  and  ge- 
ology. There  is  much  and  varied  machinery  connected 
with  a  mine.  This  includes  steam  shovels,  hoists,  and 
even  railroads,  besides  all  the  machinery  connected  with 
the  concentration  plants.  These  are  dependent  upon  a 
knowledge  of  physics  and  mechanics,  and  are  responsible 
for  the  increased  output  in  minerals.  Take  the  following 
as  an  example  of  what  machinery  has  done.  In  18-40  there 
were  125,000  tons  of  iron  mined  in  the  United  States ;  in 
1908,  these  had  increased  to  17,000,000.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  this  industry,  iron  was  produced  by  individuals 


EARTH    OCCUPATIONS 


53 


with  smalJ  blast  furnaces ;  for  you  must  know  that  iron  ore 
is  frequently  found  so  near  the  surface  of  the  earth  that 
there  is  little  difficulty  in  obtaining  it.  But  today  the 
small  furnace  of  the  individual  must  give  place  to  the  big 
machinery  and  the  result  is  that  whereas  at  that  time  it 
took  six  days  to  produce  one  ton  of  pig  iron,  today  four 
and  a  half  tons  are  produced  by  one  man  in  one  day. 

Opportunities  and  Advantages 

There  is  excellent  opportunity  for  the  young  mining 
engineer  to  get  started  and  to  rise  in  his  work.  Most  boys 
who  are  brought  up  in  a  country  remote  from  mines  do 
not  feel  particularly  drawn  to  them.  One  boy,  however, 
who  had  lived  in  a  prairie  country  but  who  when  he  was 
quite  young  had  spent  one  summer  with  his  parents  in 
the  mountains,  made  up  his  mind  then  and  there  that  he 
would  study  mining.  After  he  had  had  his  high  school 
course,  he  went  to  a  school  of  mines,  specialized  in  metal- 
lurgy, and  loved  the  work  from  the  beginning.  Even  in 
summer  he  did  not  care  to  take  vacations  but  obtained  work 
as  a  laborer  in  some  mine.  When  he  had  finished  his 
course  he  had  no  trouble  in  getting  a  position,  and  even 
though  he  has  lived  in  out-of-the-way  places  amid  rough 
people  and  great  dangers,  he  has  never  regretted  his 
choice. 

A  disadvantage  is  that  this  is  a  dangerous  occupation. 
As  in  the  case  of  factories,  many  devices  have  been  in- 
vented to  make  mining  safer,  but  it  is  impossible  for  all 
the  dangers  to  be  eliminated.  There  is  danger  from  gas, 
from  explosions,  from  caving  in,  and  from  fires.  A  woman 
whose  two  sons  were  miners  and  who  herself  lived  in  the 
mining  town  where  they  were  working,  said  that  she 
never  saw  one  of  them  go  down  into  the  mine  that  she  did 
not  feel  that  he  might  not  come  up  alive.     But  in  spite 


54  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

of  this  even  she  was  fascinated  with  the  life  and  did  not 
want  them  to  give  it  up.  She  said  that  it  seemed  like  real 
living;  that  they  were  not  being  coddled  and  pampered 
but  were  facing  real  dangers  and  hardships  in  order  to 
accomplish  their  work.  The  satisfaction  is  perhaps  some- 
thing like  that  which  comes  to  the  soldier  or  the  explorer. 

The  mining  engineer  has  an  interesting  task  in  work- 
ing out  the  best  methods  of  extracting  the  metal  from 
the  ore,  constructing  the  machinery  used  at  the  mines,  and 
making  the  work  as  safe  and  expeditions  as  possible. 
For  example,  by  new  processes  of  extracting  aluminum, 
the  price  was  reduced  from  $10.00  to  $0.22  a  pound. 
Gold  and  silver  are  produced  at  a  much  lower  price  than 
formerly.  Many  processes  of  combining  metals  and  mak- 
ing new  materials  have  been  discovered.  The  field  for 
the  mining  engineer  is  large  and  absorbing. 

So  much  for  the  man  who  is  working  in  a  mine  at  a 
salary.  It  is  quite  another  thing  to  start  out  prospecting 
or  to  think  that  you  can  make  money  from  a  mine  that 
has  not  been  proved  profitable.  Every  one  who  has  had 
experience  advises  keeping  away  from  that  sort  of  min- 
ing unless  you  happen  to  have  capital  that  you  can  afford 
to  lose.  The  many  deserted  mines  in  the  mountains  of 
our  great  western  country  are  pathetic  evidence  of  the  peo- 
ple who  have  lost  out  on  what  they  thought  would  bring 
them  a  fortune.  The  reason  that  some  have  become  im- 
mensely rich  in  these  undertakings  is  because  they  hap- 
pened to  be  lucky  in  striking  a  rich  vein  of  ore.  But  be- 
fore they  could  be  certain  of  this,  it  was  necessary  to 
risk  large  sums  of  money,  and  this,  after  all,  reduces  this 
sort  of  business  more  or  less  to  a  species  of  gambling. 
Many  people  who  went  to  Alaska  after  gold  was  discovered 
there,  made  large  fortunes,  but  many  of  these  same  people 
lost  all  that  they  had  made. 


EARTH    OCCUPATIONS 


FISHERIES 


55 


Another  of  the  earth  occupations,  or  as  wo  might  say 
perhaps  a  little  more  accurately,  those  concerned  with  nat- 
ural products,  is  that  of  fisheries.     Hugh  M.  Smith,  the 
United   States   Commissioner  of  Fisheries,    telb  us   that 
since   the   United   States   has   included   Alaska    it  has   be- 
come the  leading  nation   in  this  industry.      Even  though 
some  of  us  do  not  live  very  near  the  actual  field  of  opera- 
tion, we  ought  to  know  something  of  this  important  oc- 
cupation,   and,    in    view    of   the    predicted    developments, 
those  who  are   interested   in   agriculture  may  be   brought 
very  near  to  it.      For  on  account  of  a  probable  depletion 
in  the  supply,  caused  by  over-fishing  the  streams,  and  In- 
obstructing    and    polluting    many    of    the    inland    waters 
through  other  uses,  there  is  a  movement  on  foot  to  stock 
the  ponds  and  streams  on  the  island  farms  with  fish  sup- 
plied from   the  government  hatcheries.     It   is   predicted 
that  in  this  way  an  acre  of  water  might  be  more  profitable 
to  the  farmer  than  an   acre  of  land.      So  you   see  that 
the   fishing   industry    is    of   great    immediate    interest    to 
every   one.     In  the  National    Geographic  Magazine   for 
June,  1010,  Commissioner  Smith  tells  in  an  interesting 
way  of  our  remarkable  resources  in  fishes.     There  arc  in 
the  deep  seas  mammals  as  well  as  fish  which  in  general 
belong  to  the  same  industry.     For  instance  we  lead  the 
world  in  the  production  of  seal.     These  are  found  in  great 
numbers  in  Bering  Sea,  though  by  a  terrible  and  useless 
waste,      their     number      has     been      greatly      decreased. 
Again  we  find  the  government  at  work,  this  time  protect- 
ing the  seal  from  the  careless  and  selfish  methods  of  indi- 
viduals. 

Then  as  we  circle  around  the  country  we  see  what  im- 
mense fishinc;  "-rounds  we  have.      In  the  Atlantic  and  the 


5G  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

Pacific,  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  in  the  fresh  waters  of 
the  Great  Lakes,  not  to  mention  the  innumerable  inland 
streams  and  ponds,  are  found  almost  endless  varieties  and 
supplies  of  fishes.     Take  for  example  just  two  varieties: 
first,  the  oyster.      In  one  year  there  were  sold  35,000,000 
bushels  of  these.     So  great  is  the  demand  and  so  imminent 
the  danger  of  the  supply  being  exhausted,  that  the  business 
of  "planting"  and  of  cultivating  oysters  has  grown  up. 
Another    great    fish    industry    is    that    of    the    salmon. 
These  are  caught  in  certain  seasons  when  the  fish  in  great 
swarms  migrate  to  the  place  of  their  birth.     A  large  pro- 
portion of  them  are  canned,  so  that  for  a  short  season 
that  industry  is  very  flourishing.     Commissioner  Smith 
tells  us  that  in   1915,   so  many  salmon   were  caught  in 
Alaska  that  if  they  were  put  into  two-hundred-pound  bar- 
rels, and  these  were  piled  on  end  one  on  top  of  the  other, 
they  would  reach  a  height  of  twelve  hundred  miles;  and 
that  if  they  were  put  into  ordinary  freight  cars,  it  would 
take  ten  thousand  cars  which  would  stretch  over  a  dis- 
tance of  one  hundred  miles. 

.While  the  actual  fishing  is  a  trying  life  and  full  of 
danger,  and  demands  courage  in  the  men  who  undertake 
it,  there  is  also  the  phase  of  it  that  calls  for  good  mental 
work   and   scientific   training.     The   federal   government 
and  about  twenty  of  the  states  have  established  hatcheries. 
Here  many  fish  are  hatched  by  means  of  incubators,  and 
from  these  places  they  are  shipped  all  over  the  country  to 
supply  ponds  and  streams.     It  takes  special  cars  and  ex- 
pert train  crews  to  manage  the  shipping  part  of  the  busi- 
ness.    So  far  most  of  this  sort  of  work  has  been  done  by 
the  government,  but  in  order  to  keep  up  the  supply  of  fish 
for  inland   places,   there   is  need   of  private   enterprise; 
particularly  in  the  culture  of  fish  in  streams  and  ponds. 
Perhaps  some  of  you  who  go  into  the  business  of  agricul- 


EARTH    OCCUPATIONS  57 

ture  may  be  interested  in  specializing  in  this  line.  In 
preparation,  there  is  need  of  a  thorough  training  in  bi- 
ology. 

But  this  is  not  entirely  a  food  industry.  We  have 
already  spoken  of  the  seal  industry  which  is  supplying 
us  with  furs;  and  you  know  of  the  pearl  industry,  and 
of  the  making  of  buttons  from  the  shells  of  certain  mus- 
sels.    There  are  by-products  here  as  in  other  places. 

EXERCISES 

1.  Make  a  list  of  fifty  articles  in  your  home.  Upon  what  "  earth 
occupation"  are  you  dependent  for  each  one? 

2.  Write  a  short  imaginary  account  of  the  experiences  of  a  city 
boy  who  gets  a  job  on  a  farm  for  the  summer. 

3.  Discuss  the  following  question  either  for  or  against:  There 
are  so  many  dangers  of  failure  in  agriculture  that  only  a  man  with 
a  larije  capital  should  aim  to  own  a  farm. 

4.  Tell  the  story  of  some  woman  of  your  acquaintance  who  has 
gone  into  agricultural  work.  If  you  do  not  know  of  one  personally, 
try  to  get  information  from  some  friend  or  from  a  book  or  magazine. 

5.  Find  out  what  is  meant  by  the  farm  loan  system.  What  is  the 
Federal  Farm  Loan  board  ? 

6.  What  is  a  mortgaged  farm?  Why  do  so  many  men  have  their 
farms  mortgaged?     Is  this  good  business?     Can  it  be  avoided? 

7.  Imagine  a  business  man  in  a  large  city,  and  a  farmer.  In 
what  ways  does  each  depend  upon  the  other? 

8.  How  is  the  farmer  dependent  upon  the  government? 

9.  Take  any  one  branch  of  agriculture,  and  discuss  the  oppor- 
tunities for  a  man  or  woman  without  executive  ability.  Do  the  same 
in  another  branch  for  the  one  with  executive  ability. 

10.  Take  any  one  branch  of  agriculture,  and  tell  just  how  you 
would  go  to  work  to  prepare  for  that  occupation. 

11.  Find  all  that  you  can  about  the  life  and  work  of  the  lumber- 
man. What  is  attractive  or  unattractive  in  it?  Describe  the  kind 
of  person  that  you  think  would  make  a  leader  of  these  men. 

12.  If  a  boy  was  interested  in  forestry  as  a  profession,  how  would 
he  go  about  it  to  get  into  that  kind  of  work?  What  kind  of  prepara- 
tion would  he  need  and  where  would  he  get  it? 

13.  Name  as  many  products  as  you  can  of  the  fishing  industry. 


58  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

14.  In  the  actual  work  of  fishing  either  on  the  high  seas  or  inland 
on  streams  and  lakes,  men  seem  to  be  either  extremely  fascinated,  or 
to  feel  no  interest  or  a  real  repugnance.  Give  reasons  to  explain 
this. 

15.  Describe  some  part  of  the  country  in  which  a  boy  who  intended 
to  go  into  the  occupation  of  mining  would  be  likely  to  live. 

10.  Send  for  the  catalogue  of  some  Mining  School,  like  that,  for  in- 
stance, at  Golden,  Colorado.  What  preparation  is  necessary  for  en- 
trance?    What  sort  of  studies  would  be  pursued  in  a  course  there? 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Fiske,  G.  W.     The  Challenge  of  the  Country. 

Burkett,  Stevens,  and  Hill.  Agriculture  for  Beginners.  Ginn  & 
Co. 

Hunt,  T.  F.     The  Young  Farmer.     Orange  Judd  Co. 

Williams,  Archibald.  The  Romance  of  Modern  Mining.  Seeley  & 
Co.,  1907. 

Bailey,  L.  H.  The  Country-Life  Movement  in  the  United  States. 
The  Macmillan   Co. 

Bailey,  L.  IT.     The  Outlook  to  Nature. 

Graves,  Henry  S.  The  Profession  of  Forestry.  United  States  De- 
partment of  Agriculture.     Forest  Service  —  Circular  207. 

Smith,  Hugh  M .,  United  States  Commissioner  of  Fisheries.  Article 
in  National  Geographic   Magazine.     June,  1010. 

Husband,  Joseph      A  Year  in  a  Coal  Mine. 

Smith,  J.  Russell.  Commerce  and  Industry.  Henry  Holt  &  Co., 
1910. 


CHAPTER  IV 
TRANSFERRING  OCCUPATIONS 

The  third  group  we  have  called  "transferring  occupa- 
tions," because,  as  the  name  implies,  they  "  carry  across  ': 
products,  people,  and  money  from  one  occupation  to 
another.  As  we  have  seen  in  our  diagram,  transporta- 
tion and  banking  form  connecting  links  between  the  other 
big  divisions  of  occupations.  It  is  by  means  of  banking 
that  the  great  undertakings  are  backed  financially;  and 
by  means  of  transportation,  that  the  products  of  the  farm, 
the  forest,  and  the  mine  reach  either  the  merchant  or  the 
great  factories;  and  again  that  the  finished  product  of 
the  factory  finds  its  way  to  the  dealer  and  the  consumer. 

Transportation  may  be  considered  under  three  heads: 
(1)  railroading,  (2)  water  transportation,  (3)  street 
railways.  By  far  the  most  important  of  these,  and  in 
fact  one  of  the  greatest  single  industries  in  the  United 
States,  is  railroading.  It  employs  almost  two-thirds  of 
the  people  employed  in  all  transportation  in  our  country, 
the  number  of  whom  according  to  the  1010  census  was 
2,037,071. 

The  more  we  learn  about  this  remarkable  organization, 
the  complicated  systems  in  adjusting  the  business  side  of  its 
work,  and  the  expert  skill  demanded  in  various  phases  of 
its  construction  and  its  operation,  the  more  we  admire  the 
mind  and  character  of  the  men  who  make  this  wonder- 
ful system  possible.  The  history  of  railroads  reads  like 
a  veritable  romance.      Starting  in  our  country  with  the 

59  ' 


60  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

old  canals  and  turnpikes,  the  latter  being  the  road-bed  for 
the  picturesque  stage-coach  of  early  days,  we  have  come 
to  such  a  degree  of  luxury  that  we  can  travel  from  one 
ocean  to  the  other  with  all  the  comforts  of  our  modern  home 
life;  while  from  the  humblest  citizen  to  the  most  impor- 
tant manufacturer,  we  may  ship  our  goods,  small  or  bulky, 
cheap  or  expensive,  from  any  place  to  any  other  place, 
with  pretty  well  assured  safety  and  expedition. 

In  connection  with  the  history  of  railroads,  it  is  in- 
teresting to  note  that  they  owe  their  beginning  to  the  earth 
occupations  that  we  have  just  been  considering;  for  the 
first  suggestion  to  use  steam  for  transportation  came  about 
three  centuries  ago  in  England,  when  it  was  suggested 
that  agricultural  products  be  carried  across  the  country 
in  this  way.  The  first  railroad  in  the  United  States  was 
built  in  1827  in  order  to  carry  granite  from  the  quar- 
ries for  the  building  of  Bunker  Hill  Monument.  This 
carrying  of  material  for  the  industries  and  for  business  is 
still  the  main  purpose  of  transportation.  We  may  well 
ask :  "  Do  the  earth  occupations  and  manufacturing  de- 
pend upon  transportation;  or  does  transportation  depend 
upon  these  productive  occupations ;  or  again  do  they  both 
depend  upon  commerce,  or  does  commerce  depend  upon 
both  of  them  ?  "  To  all  these  questions,  we  may  answer, 
yes ;  for,  on  the  one  hand,  the  producers  must  have  some 
means  of  transportation,  and  on  the  other,  the  railroads  de- 
pend for  their  profit  upon  the  freight  business,  while  we 
can  easily  see  how  commerce  and  both  of  these  occupations 
are  interdependent.  Again  the  government  is  back  of 
this  group,  and  sometimes  has  to  step  in  to  adjust  mat- 
ters between  the  great  army  of  workmen  and  their  leaders. 
Some  of  the  states  have  railroad  commissions  and  others 
are  likely  to  have  them  soon.  During  the  war,  the  gov- 
ernment assumed  complete  control  of  the  railroads,  and 


TRANSFERRING  OCCUPATIONS  61 

there  is  a  question  as  to  whether  this  system  will  become 
permanent. 

We  are  not  surprised,  therefore,  to  learn  that  in  this 
immense  machinery,  there  is  a  place  for  every  conceivable 
sort  of  ability,  and  that  many  kinds  of  preparation  are 
demanded.  Let  us  take  a  bird's-eye  view  of  its  various 
departments  and  try  to  see  of  what  sort  of  men  they  are 
made  up. 

The  business  of  railroading  may  be  divided  into  three 
great  divisions : 

First.  The  operating  department.  This  department 
has  charge  of  the  tracks  and  of  the  moving  of  freight  and 
passenger  trains.  In  order  to  make  this  department  ef- 
fective, first  of  all  roads  must  be  built,  rebuilt,  and  kept 
in  repair.  In  charge  of  this  part  of  the  work  is  an 
Engineer-Maintenance-of-Way.  Under  him  in  each  di- 
vision is  a  Chief  Engineer;  and  working  under  him  are 
civil  engineers,  surveyors,  and  a  host  of  unskilled  labor- 
ers over  sections  of  whom  are  foremen  and  supervisors. 

So  much  for  keeping  the  road  in  order.  Next  we 
must  have  the  men  who  actually  operate  in  moving  the 
trains.  There  is  in  each  division  a  train  master,  whose 
duty  it  is  to  assign  the  men  to  their  work  and  to  see  that 
the  work  is  well  done.  The  beginners  in  this  department 
are  boys  who  start  working  in  the  yards,  running  errands 
and  calling  crews.  Later  they  are  made  hostlers  with 
somewhat  more  responsible  duties,  helping  to  get  the  en- 
gines ready  to  start  out  on  their  trips.  Finally,  the  capa- 
ble boy  becomes  the  fireman  on  a  freight  train,  then  is 
transferred  to  a  passenger  train  ;  is  next  appointed  to  run  a 
freight  train  as  engineman  and  at  last  gets  the  coveted 
position  of  engineman  of  a  passenger  train.  Or  on  the 
other  hand,  the  hostler  might  have  started  in  as  brakeman 
on  a  freight  train,  from  this  he  would  become  brakeman  on 


62  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

a  passenger  train,  then  conductor  on  a  freight  train,  and 
finally  conductor  on  a  passenger  train. 

Besides  keeping  the  track  in  order  and  actually  moving 
the  trains,  it  takes  another  group  of  men  to  maneuver  the 
operating  department.  These  are  the  telegraph  and  signal 
men.  Here  there  is  a  divisional  operator  in  charge,  and 
under  him  the  train-dispatcher  with  station  operators  and 
tower-men  working  under  him. 

Besides  these  there  are  a  great  many  men  working  in 
the  freight  yards  in  charge  of  the  yard  master,  who  in  him- 
self is  a  general. 

Second.  The  shops.  It  is  here  that  the  thousands  of 
cars  are  constructed,  repaired,  and  kept  in  good  condition. 
A  number  of  locomotives  are  also  built  here,  though  most 
of  these  are  bought  from  a  manufacturer.  It  is  said  that 
half  of  those  used  in  the  United  States  are  made  in  Penn- 
sylvania, while  a  fourth  of  them  are  made  in  New  York 
state.  But  the  shops  owned  and  operated  by  the  railroad 
companies  are  used  for  the  building  and  repairing  of 
freight  and  passenger  cars.  These  are  really  great  ma- 
chine shops  and  the  ability  required  is  of  the  mechanical 
sort,  such  as  is  required  in  the  manufacturing  business. 
So  although  we  shall  not  consider  this  division  in  detail 
here,  we  might  mention  what  men  are  employed  in  the 
work.  There  will  be  a  Superintendent  of  Motive  Power 
to  whom  two  sets  of  men  are  responsible.  First,  the 
train-men,  that  is,  the  enginemen  and  firemen,  are  work- 
ing under  this  department  on  the  side  of  equipment.  This 
means  the  seeing  that  everything  is  in  perfect  working  or- 
der; for  it  is  to  the  shops  that  the  engine  and  train  must 
be  sent  for  repairs.  We  have  already  seen  that  on  the  side 
of  running  the  trains,  these  men  are  responsible  to  the 
train-master.  The  second  set  of  men  responsible  to  the 
Superintendent  of  Motive  Power  are :  the  Master  Mechanic, 


TRANSFERRING  OCCUPATIONS  03 

who  is  the  bead  of  the  shop  itself,  and  under  him  skilled 
mechanics  and  laborers,  with  their  foremen.  Here  there 
is  also  a  large  clerical  force. 

Third.  The  general  offices.  It  is  here  that  the  tre- 
mendous details  of  freight  and  passenger  business  and  the 
accounting  are  handled.  We  have  mentioned  the  force 
that  builds,  equips,  and  maintains  the  road,  and  those 
that  keep  the  trains  in  motion  ;  now  comes  the  more  purely 
business  end  of  it  all.  Here  there  are  many  sub-depart- 
ments ;  there  are  the  auditors  who  must  keep  account  of  all 
the  earnings  of  the  company,  i.e.,  from  passenger  tickets, 
freight  charges,  and  other  sources  of  income.  There  is 
the  purchasing  agent  to  whom  all  requests  for  supplies 
and  equipment  must  go.  There  is  the  statistician  who 
analyzes  the  revenue  and  costs  so  that  the  former  may  be 
kept  ahead  of  the  latter.  To  be  sure,  most  of  the  railroads 
are  making  money,  and  yet  it  might  surprise  you  to  learn 
something  about  their  tremendous  expenses.  Just  to  take 
two  or  three  comparatively  small  items;  in  one  year,  in  a 
certain  road,  the  cost  of  lead  pencils  was  $4000  and  the  bill 
for  printing  tickets  was  $40,000,  that  for  printing  folders 
was  $50,000.  There  are  also  men  who  figure  out  the 
freight  and  passenger  rates,  those  in  the  legal  department, 
the  claim  department,  and  many  others. 

On  the  side  of  sales  and  advertising,  we  find  men  that 
correspond  to  these  departments  in  other  lines  of  business. 
What  sort  of  men  these  should  be,  Ave  shall  find  when  we 
come  to  the  studv  of  commerce.  What  success  thev  have 
made  is  suggested  by  the  remark  of  an  Englishman  who 
has  made  a  study  of  our  railway  systems:  "What  the 
American  railroad  manager  does  not  know  about  adver- 
tising methods  is  scarcely  worth  knowing."  To  carry  on 
this  end  of  the  business,  we  have  the  General  Passenger 
Agent,  and  under  him  the  station-masters,  station-agents, 


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OG  VOCATIONAL,    CIVICS 

agents  in  the  city  ticket  offices.  On  the  freight  side,  there 
is  the  general  freight  agent,  with  the  baggage  master, 
baggage  agents,  and  freight  clerks. 

This  brief  summary  dues  not  bv  any  means  include  all 
the  people  who  are  working  for  the  railroads,  but  in  outline 
as  it  is,  it  will  give  yon  some  idea  of  the  empire  that  a  great 
railway  system  really  is.  Over  all  these  people:  the  engi- 
neer-ma intenance-of -way,  the  superintendent  of  motive 
power,  the  train-master,  the  division  operator,  the  purchas- 
ing agent,  is  the  general  manager ;  and  finally  over  all  is  the 
president.  Later  we  shall  have  more  to  say  about  these 
different  men.  We  should  add  that  in  different  roads  the 
organization  varies  somewhat,  but  that  in  the  main  the 
outline  will  hold.1 

Qualifications 

In  railroading,  the  variety  of  work  is  so  great  that  in 
some  department  or  other,  there  is  room  for  almost  every 
sort  of  ability.  As  von  see,  in  both  the  maintenance  of 
way  and  the  shops  department,  there  are  employed  bands 
of  unskilled  laborers,  who  must  have  the  same  sort  of 
ability  in  this  as  in  other  occupations.  For  the  depart- 
ments which  require  more  skill,  let  us  look  at  some  of  the 
qualities  that  have  been  enumerated  by  an  authority  in 
railroads. 

First,  there  must  be  a  rather  high  grade  of  mental  ca- 
pacity. The  railroad  man  must  be  able  to  understand 
the  complicated  signal  code,  the  mechanism  of  his  engine, 
or,  as  a  conductor,  he  must  be  able  to  handle  the  tickets 
and  keep  the  necessary  accounts.  It  takes  a  man  of  in- 
telligence to  make  a  good  railroader. 

Second,  he  must  have  a  good  physique.  As  a  brakeman 
or  a  fireman  he  will  be  obliged  to  do  hard  physical  work. 

i  See  diagrams  on  pages  G4  and  65. 


TRANSFERRING  OCCUPATIONS  67 

As  an  engineman,  lie  must  face  exposure  to  all  sorts  of 
weather. 

Third,  he  must  have  strength  of  character  so  that  he 
will  not  flinch  under  a  responsibility  which  entails  the 
safety  and  lives  of  many  people. 

Fourth,  he  must  be  punctual ;  lack  of  this  means  not 
only  inconvenience  but  positive  danger  to  the  patrons  of 
the  road. 

Fifth,  he  must  be  observant ;  if  he  does  not  see  a  signal 
or  a  fault  in  his  machinery  the  result  may  be  disastrous. 

Sixth,  he  must  be  attentive;  neglect  or  forgetfulness 
may  mean  the  loss  of  human  life. 

Seventh,  he  must  be  temperate.  In  one  division  of  a 
certain  railway  there  were  innumerable  accidents.  It  was 
found  that  the  train  men  were  doing  an  excessive  amount 
of  drinking  and  it  was  necessary  to  appoint  a  superinten- 
dent who  was  a  particularly  good  disciplinarian  to  over- 
come this.  However,  now,  employers  of  all  sorts  are  wak- 
ing up  to  the  fact  that  the  grade  of  efficiency  is  greatly 
lowered  by  drink,  and  it  is  largely  duo  to  this  fact  that 
so  many  states  are  passing  laws  prohibiting  the  sale  of 
liquors.  The  recent  bill  passed  by  Congress  shows  what 
our  government  thinks  on  this  point. 

These  requirements  refer  particularly  to  the  operating 
department  and  you  can  see  that  they  are  fundamental 
qualities  for  all  of  these  employees.  Beyond  these  points, 
what  are  some  of  the  qualities  that  might  be  helpful  for 
one  who  would  gain  the  great  advantage  of  railroading; 
namely,  the  opportunity  to  rise ;  for  there  is  probably  no 
line  of  business  in  which  there  have  been  so  many  instances 
of  this. 

In  all  departments,  the  chief  requisite  for  those  who 
would  hold  superior  positions,  is  executive  ability.  In  the 
operating  department,  one  must  be  able  to  handle  men,  and 


68  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

to  look  after  the  practical  details  that  go  with  the  opera- 
tion of  trains.  In  the  shops,  there  are  many  men  to 
manage,  and  in  the  offices,  executive  ability  is  required  in 
handling  office  details. 

]STow  since  executive  ability  is  so  important  not  only  in 
all  departments  of  railroading  but  for  those  at  the  head 
of  every  occupation,  it  might  be  helpful  to  discuss  what 
we  mean  by  it.  An  executive  position  is  one  which  as- 
sumes the  responsibility  of  seeing  that  things  are  done. 
It  may  mean  the  handling  of  men,  that  is,  the  ability  to 
see  that  many  other  people  do  their  work  and  get  satisfac- 
tory results.  Your  natural  ability  in  this  line  may  be 
observed  in  school  days  by  seeing  how  much  of  a  leader 
you  are.  In  the  literary  societies  and  the  athletic  teams, 
can  you  persuade  the  other  boys  to  do  what  you  believe 
to  be  the  best  thing?  This  power  to  handle  men  is 
largely  an  inborn  characteristic.  A  young  man,'  whose 
father  is  a  wealthy  and  successful  engineer,  went  west  to 
help  him  in  superintending  the  building  of  a  railroad. 
Because  of  his  quiet  strength  and  tact,  he  had  no  diffi- 
culty in  getting  all  the  work  he  thought  necessary  out  of 
the  gangs  of  workmen.  In  fact,  when  he  himself  was 
transferred  to  a  section  of  the  country  a  thousand  miles 
away,  several  hundred  foreigners  refused  to  go  on  with 
the  work  unless  they  could  be  transferred  with  him. 
From  this  experience  the  young  man  could  have  no  doubt 
that  he  was  a  horn  leader  and  that  his  work  must  include 
the  handling  of  men. 

Or  executive  ability  may  mean  looking  after  details  of 
work.  It  is  quite  a  different  quality  from  that  required 
to  do  a  certain  definite  piece  of  work  that  has  been  assigned 
to  you.  In  an  office  or  shop,  it  means  responsibility  for 
every  detail,  so  that  the  big  result  which  is  made  up  of 
numberless  parts  shall  be  complete.     Men  usually  have 


TRANSFERRING  OCCUPATIONS  G9 

to  work  up  to  executive  positions,  and  so  their  powers  can 
be  tried  out  as  they  go  along. 

Second,  the  power  of  absolute  concentration  is  an  asset. 
A  young  man  who  worked  in  the  general  offices  of  a  rail- 
road forged  ahead  of  older,  more  experienced  men,  chiefly 
because  of  a  wonderful  power  of  concentration.  When 
he  sat  down  to  work  at  his  desk,  he  knew  absolutely  nothing 
of  what  was  going  on  around  him,  and  the  result  was 
that  he  accomplished  much  more  than  the  other  men. 
You  have  an  excellent  opportunity  to  cultivate  the  power 
of  concentration  when  you  are  studying  your  lessons. 
Sit  down  with  your  books  and  see  if  you  can  be  dead 
to  everything  around  you  until  you  have  your  task  com- 
pleted. 

Perhaps  as  important  as  anything  else  is  the  willingness 
to  do  unpleasant  work;  for  most  of  those  who  have  risen 
in  railroading  have  begun  with  hard,  disagreeable,  often 
dirty  work. 

To  sum  up  the  requirements  once  more:  Work  in 
the  operating  department  demands  practical  ability,  cour- 
age, and  the  power  to  handle  men ;  in  the  shops,  mechani- 
cal skill,  and  in  the  offices,  clerical  ability,  i.e.,  neatness, 
accuracy,  and  power  of  concentration.  In  all  departments 
if  one  would  attain  a  position  of  leadership  there  must  be 
executive  ability  besides  a  willingness  to  do  unpleasant 
work.  Besides  all  this,  railroading  is  such  an  inclusive 
business  that  it  also  uses  all  sorts  of  engineering,  legal, 
other  professional,  and  commercial  ability;  but  these  will 
be  discussed   in  connection   with  other  occupations. 

Preparation 

The  man  who  has  set  his  goal  in  the  higher  ranks  of 
railroading  must  make  up  his  mind  to  a  stiff  course  of 
preparation.     He   must   learn   the   details   sufficiently   to 


70  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

pass  judgment  on  the  maintenance  of  way  and  the  equip- 
ment; he  should  know  something  of  civil,  mechanical,  and 
electrical  engineering,  and  of  building.  Then  when  he 
has  had  a  thorough  training  in  the  intricacies  of  railroad 
management  and  schedules,  he  is  in  line  for  a  position 
of  importance.  Is  it  surprising  that  -railroading  is  re- 
garded as  a  profession  ?  This  preparation,  needless  to 
say,  implies  a  college  course.  And  along  with  this  train- 
ing, he  should  have  experience  in  handling  men;  and  after 
that  he  should  he  willing  to  begin  low  in  the  ranks.  In 
the  state  of  Illinois  about  3  per  cent,  of  the  entire  popu- 
lation are  employed  in  some  sort  of  railroad  work.  Realiz- 
ing this,  in  1910,  the  University  of  Illinois  established 
a  School  of  Kail  way  Engineering  and  Administration. 
They  have  a  splendid  equipment  for  this  training,  one 
building  especially  constructed  for  the  testing  of  loco- 
motives, test  cars,  besides  other  apparatus.  Here  there 
is  a  thorough  training  in  mathematics  and  science  and 
in  railway,  civil,  mechanical,  and  electrical  engineer- 
ing. On  the  more  purely  business  side,  courses  are  given, 
one  for  those  interested  in  the  traffic  and  accounting;  de- 
partments,  and  one  for  those  interested  in  transportation. 
These  courses  bring  the  degree  of  B.  S.  and  are  equivalent 
to  any  college  course,  requiring  for  entrance  four  years 
of  preliminary  work  in  a  good  high  school. 

Or  instead  of  this,  the  prospective  railroader  may 
enter  one  of  the  railway  schools.  The  Scientific  American 
has  published  an  article  describing  these.  The  following 
is  taken  directly  or  indirectly  from  this  article:  A  fellow 
may  enter  as  "  regular  "  or  "  special  " —  the  former  need 
have  only  a  public  school  education,  hut  the  latter  must  be  a 
college  graduate  and  can  qualify  for  the  higher  positions. 
When  he  starts  his  training,  he  is  put  into  repair  work, 
then  sent  from  one  shop  to  another, —  planing,  machine 


TRANSFERRING  OCCUPATIONS 


71 


work,  black-smithing',  boiler  shop.  In  all  of  this,  his 
work  is  very  strenuous,  ten  hours  a  day  amid  all  sorts 
of  noise  and  dirt.  Then  he  goes  to  the  car-shop  and  learns 
about  building  all  kinds  of  cars  from  a  hand-car  to  a 
Pullman,  and  next  he  must  spend  three  months  as  fireman 
on  the  road.  Then  comes  the  final  year  which  is  spent  in 
the  business  departments,  and  the  testing  room  where  the 
railroad  chemist  tests  the  steel  alloy  used  in  various  ways 
in  the  construction  of  a  locomotive ;  and  last  comes  the 
drawing  room.  After  these  three  vears,  he  receives  a 
diploma,  and  is  ready  to  work  into  the  best  things  in 
railroading. 

The  Pennsylvania,  Santa  Fc,  New  York  Central,  and 
a  half  do/.on  others  have  schools  of  this  sort.  So  an  ex- 
cellent 'opportunity  is  offered  for  a  young  fellow  who  has 
mechanical  ability  and  the  courage  and  perseverance  to 
stick  to  the  work. 

Opportunities 

In  genera],  in  the  railroad  business  there  are  excellent 
opportunities  if  one  has  the  ability  to  do  the  work.  The 
salaries  paid  the  higher  officials  are  excellent,  and  promo- 
tion from  road  to  road  is  often  given  to  men  of  exceptional 
ability.  Wage?  or  salaries  range  all  the  way  from  $500 
to  $50,000  a  year. 

Beginning  then  with  the  most  unskilled,  the  laborers 
in  the  construction  gang  get  from  $10  to  $12  a  week,  while 
the  foreman  gets  from  $15  to  $25.  If  one  starts  operating 
as  a  freight  brakeman,  he  may  be  paid  two  cents  a  mile. 
In  from  five  to  fifteen  years,  he  may  be  appointed  as 
freight  conductor  with  a  wage  of  three  cents  a  mile.  Pas- 
senger conductors  get  $125  a  month  with  extra  pay  for 
Sundays.  Passenger  brakcmen  may  be  promoted  to  col- 
lectors at  $70  a  month. 


72  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

In  the  shops,  one  may  start  in  as  helper  to  a  machinist 
and  may  work  up  according  to  his  ability.  The  superin- 
tendent of  the  Chicago  eV  Northwestern  shops  gets  $12,000 
a  year  because  of  his  ability  to  handle  men. 

The  pay  of  the  men  in  the  offices  varies  greatly.  Some 
young  men  who  have  gained  the  reputation  for  superior 
excellence  have  been  called  by  other  roads,  and  have  been 
offered  much  larger  salaries  than  they  would  have  re- 
ceived, had  they  remained. 

When  we  think  of  railroading  it  is  usually  of  the 
operating  and  maintaining  departments;  probably  because 
these  departments  differ  more  from  other  businesses.  In 
these  departments  are  96  per  cent,  of  all  the  railway  em- 
ployees, and  it  is  from  these  departments  that  most  of  the 
high  officials  have  risen.  All  along  the  line  above  the  grade 
where  uneducated,  unskilled  laborers  are  employed,  there 
are  numberless  fascinating  phases  of  the  work,  work  that 
takes  intellect,  skill,  and  executive  ability,  and  such  work 
always  brings  satisfaction  in  its  efficient  accomplishment. 
Take  the  one  item  of  the  building  of  bridges,  which  has 
been  a  big  problem  in  the  construction  of  railways.  In 
the  early  days  these  were  built  of  wood,  later  of  stone,  then 
iron  was  used,  and  just  when  that  was  found  to  be  inade- 
quate, Bessemer  in  England  found  the  new  process  for 
making  steel.  Do  vou  see  here  again  how  all  the  occu- 
pat  ions  are  interwoven  ?  It  is  of  course  the  engineer 
who  builds  the  bridges,  and  it  took  an  inventor  with  a 
knowledge  of  chemistry  to  find  the  material.  Again, 
when  the  railroads  were  first  built  it  seemed  necessary 
to  complete  their  construction  as  quickly  as  possible,  so 
that  in  their  operation  much  power  and  money  were  wasted 
in  pulling  the  trains  over  grades  and  around  obstacles. 
This  is  the  cause  of  the  constant  work  in  reconstruction. 
Grades    are    lowered,    tunnels    are   built,    and    roads    are 


TRANSFERRING  OCCUPATIONS  73 

straightened.  This,  in  time,  saves  expense  and  it  keeps 
an  army  of  engineers  and  laborers  busy. 

Another  big  matter  is  the  building  of  terminals.  This 
is  the  work  of  master  engineers  and  architects.  Just  con- 
sider for  a  moment  that  in  one  year  in  Boston  there 
passed  through  one  terminal  31,831,390  passengers,  and 
2,500,000  trunks.  Daily  there  were  800  trains.  Besides 
arranging  for  these,  there  must  be  storage  and  cleaning 
rooms  for  cars  and  engines.  The  ticket  offices,  baggage 
rooms,  check  rooms,  gates  and  doors  to  trains  and  street, 
must  be  planned  for  convenience  of  approach  and  avoid- 
ance of  confusion. 

Next  consider  the  freight  yards,  especially  those  in  the 
big  cities.  Besides  the  main  yards,  the  great  manufac- 
turing concerns  have  their  private  sidings  to  which  the 
railroads  must  send  their  trains.  There  are  also  separate 
yards  for  coal  and  other  commodities.  In  one  of  these 
main  yards  there  are  two  hundred  miles  of  tracks  and 
two  thousand  switches.  Think  of  the  generalship  that 
it  takes  to  manage  this!  The  night  yard  master  can  be 
no  ordinary  man ;  for  while  the  freight  is  being  sent  in 
for  shipment  all  day,  it  is  usually  at  night  that  the  great 
work  of  sorting,  arranging  and  inspecting  is  done.  One 
yard  master  said  that  during  a  space  of  twenty-four  hours 
he  had  seven  thousand  cars  to  dispose  of. 

Again,  consider  the  train  dispatcher.  While  the  office 
force  has  accomplished  the  difficult  task  of  making  the 
train  schedule,  it  is  impossible  in  such  an  immense  system 
for  everything  to  go  without  a  hitch.  If  there  is  the  slight- 
est change  the  train  dispatcher  must  get  word  to  every 
engineman  and  conductor  in  his  division  so  they  will 
know  just  what  trains  they  are  expected  to  meet  or  pass 
and  just  where  and  when.  This  is  done  with  the  aid  of 
the  station  operator. 


74  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

Over  all  this  organization  is  the  president.  Among 
the  greatest  railway  presidents  have  been  Hill,  Ilarri- 
nian,  Brown,  and  MeCrea.  It  is  said  that  nine  out  of 
ten  of  all  the  presidents  have  come  out  of  the  operating 
department.  And  that  is  not  surprising  when  we  con- 
sider that  that  kind  of  work  is  most  likely  to  develop 
executives.  While  many  railway  presidents  in  the  past 
have  risen  from  the  lowest  ranks,  the  organization  of  in- 
dustry has  become  such  that  in  the  future  this  is  not  likely 
to  be  the  case.  One  does  not,  however,  need  to  be  the 
president  in  order  to  have  a  responsible,  satisfactory  posi- 
tion. 

Below  the  president  is  the  general  manager.  While 
these  responsible  positions  are  the  goal  of  many  young  men 
not  only  from  the  point  of  view  of  salary,  but  from  that 
of  the  satisfaction  that  conies  from  handling  big  situations, 
they  carry  with  them  an  immense  amount  of  care  and 
work.  One  general  manager  said  that  it  was  a  common 
thing  for  him  to  work  eighteen  hours  a  day.  He  has  a 
constant  line  of  requests  asking  for  extra  trains,  new 
stations,  elevated  crossings,  etc.,  and  he  must  have  the 
fullest  information  and  the  clearest  judgment,  in  order 
to  deeide  what  is  to  be  done  in  justice  both  to  the  road 
and  to  the  public. 

Then  there  is  the  superintendent,  who  also  must  be  a 
man  of  no  small  measure,  lie  must  attend  to  numerous 
complaints  and  must  see  that  the  train  schedule  works 
as  accurately  as  possible.  A  first  class  superintendent  is 
in  demand.  One  branch  of  a  road  in  the  Middle  West 
was  in  a  very  much  run  down  condition.  A  search  was 
made  all  over  the  country  for  superintendents,  but  the 
right  one  was  not  found.  Finally  a  man  from  the  East 
applied  and  asked  for  a  salary  of  $50,000.  The  direc- 
tors  were   staggered,    but   the   man   knew   what   his   own 


TRANSFERRING  OCCUPATIONS  75 

services  were  worth  and  would  come  for  no  less;  so  be- 
cause of  the  emergency  they  took  him  and  in  one  year  he 
had  saved  the  road  more  than  the  amount  of  the  salary  that 
they  had  hesitated  to  pay.    ' 

There  are  hundreds  of  eases  of  railroad  men  rising  from 
the  ranks.  This,  however,  does  not  mean  that  every  one 
who  becomes  a  station  agent  or  conductor  will  finally  be- 
come president.  Sometimes  when  the  man  is  not  big 
enough  for  his  job  the  march  is  in  the  opposite  direction; 
and  so  one  man  who  had  been  a  superintendent  became  a 
station  agent  in  a  small  town.  Then  even  though  a  man 
has  the  qualities  for  rising  he  may  not  go  to  the  top;  for 
it  is  evident  that  there  could  not  be  room  there  for  all. 
Always  remember  that  a  top  implies  a  base  which  must 
needs  be  much  broader  than  the  top.  A  man  may  go  to 
the  end  of  his  days  as  superintendent  and  never  become 
manager  simply  because  there  are  no  vacancies  ahead. 
But  the  fact  still  remains  that  railroading  offers  a  splendid 
chance  for  advance  to  the  really  capable  man;  and  that 
even  many  degrees  below  the  top  there;  are  very  desirable 
positions. 

It  is  hard  to  say  which  occupation  does  the  most  for 
the  welfare  of  the  country,  but  in  so  far  as  any  work  eon- 
tributes  toward  this,  it  may  bring  satisfaction  to«all  hav- 
ing a  part  in  it.  Agriculture,  we  have  seen,  is  not  only  im- 
portant, but  is  absolutely  essential,  and  yet  from  the  earli- 
est colonial  days  to  the  present  time,  transportation  of 
some  sort  has  been  a  most  powerful  factor  in  the  develop- 
ment of  every  phase  of  our  life. 

Let  me  quote  to  you  a  few  sentences  from  a  talk  given 
by  the  editor  of  a  railway  magazine.  "  I  know  of  no 
business  which  better  offers  to  merit  the  chance  both  to 
accumulate  a  competency  and  to  acquire  and  use  influence 
for  the  public  weal  than  does  the   railway  industry   in 


76  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

the  United  States.  .  .  .  Men  of  really  big  minds  and  great 
souls  do  not  work  for  money  alone.  .  .  .  Xo  one  has  a 
better  chance  to  render  valuable  service  to  the  public  than 
the  railway  officer.  On  the  dne  hand  he  must  be  an  ex- 
ecutive of  the  highest  order.  Xo  meaner  talent  can  op- 
erate efficiently  a  great  modern  railway.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  must  be  a  statesman.  He  must  devise  and  carry 
out  policies  that  will  inure  to  the  good  of  the  public;  and 
he  must  also  convince  the  public  that  he  is  doing  so;  and 
to  devise,  carry  out,  and,  in  the  forum  of  public  discussion, 
vindicate  beneficial  public  policies  is  the  very  definition 
of  statesmanship. 

"  Changing  conditions  will  ever  present  new  and  ad- 
ditional requirements  that  must  be  met.  So,  no  matter 
how  well  the  railway  officers  of  today  do  their  duty,  there 
will  be  plenty  of  opportunity  for  work,  for  advancement, 
and  for  public  service  for  those  who  come  after  them." 

Disadvantages 

Immediately,  T  am  sure,  you  are  thinking  of  one  great 
disadvantage.  Railroading  is  certainly  a  dangerous  oc- 
cupation. The  United  States  Statistical  Abstract  gives 
for  the  year  1915,  2152  employees  of  the  railways  killed 
and  138,092  injured.  Three  things  might  be  said  to  off- 
set this  fact.  First,  according  to  their  own  testimony, 
many  of  the  accidents  are  due  to  the  carelessness  of  the 
men  themselves,  a  fact  which,  of  course,  suggests  a  rem- 
edy. Second,  a  good  life  insurance  system  has  been 
worked  out  for  railway  employees.  Third,  the  same  thing 
may  be  said  here  that  is  true  of  the  miner  and  the  soldier, 
namely,  that  when  a  thing  is  worth  the  doing,  it  may  be 
worth  incurring  a  good  deal  of  danger.  All  this  should 
be  taken  into  consideration  before  one  decides  to  take  up 
railroading  as  a  vocation. 


TRANSFERRING  OCCUPATIONS  77 

Another  disadvantage  is  that  for  one  who  starts  at  the 
bottom  without  a  special  education,  there  is  not  quite  the 
chance  to  rise  to  the  top  that  there  used  to  be.  This  is 
on  account  of  the  regulations  made  and  enforced  by  the 
Bailway  Brotherhoods,  by  which  promotion  is  based  upon 
seniority  rather  than  "  pull,"  or  even  merit.  However 
this  does  not  apply  to  such  employees  as  clerks,  stenog- 
raphers, station  agents,  telephone  operators.  It  is,  in- 
deed, from  this  side  of  the  operating  department  that  most 
of  the  high  officials  have  come.  Following  are  some  of 
the  positions  from  which  the  present  railway  presidents 
have  risen ;  clerk,  telegraph  operator,  section  laborer,  water 
boy  on  track  work,  stenographer.  So  although  the  rise 
along  one  line  may  not  be  so  rapid  as  formerly,  there  is 
still  excellent  opportunity  for  the  efficient  man. 

What  about  the  chances  for  women  in  railroading? 
The  United  States  census  report  of  1910  gives  106,596 
women  among  the  2,637,671  people  engaged  in  the  work 
of  transportation.  I  need  not  mention  the  positions  which 
it  is  certain  that  women  do  not  fill ;  but  many  are  employed 
in  the  offices  and  in  various  clerical  positions.  They  are 
also  employed  as  telegraph  and  telephone  operators.  But 
in  the  work  that  belongs  distinctively  to  railroads,  they 
seldom  find  a  place.  One  notable  exception  is  that  women 
have  made  good  as  station  agents  in  small  places ;  and  an- 
other, that  in  war  time,  there  has  been  found  scarcely  a 
position  that  women  cannot  fill  unless  it  be  that  of  engine- 
man  or  fireman.  However,  on  the  whole,  there  are  many 
kinds  of  business  that  will  appeal  to  girls  more  than  rail- 
roading. 

But  transportation  refers  not  only  to  steam  railways, 
but  to  navigation,  street  railways,  trucking,  the  taxi  busi- 
ness, etc.  The  former  two  are  organized  and  run  in  very 
much  the  same  way  as  the  steam  railways.     The  traffic 


78  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

on  our  navigable  rivers,  the  Great  Lakes,  and  the  coast^ 
wise  routes,  makes  a  bigger  business  than  those  of  us  who 
live  inland  realize.  Many  of  us  have  an  opportunity  to 
see  something  of  what  is  done  by  the  electric  street  rail- 
ways, the  elevated,  and  possibly  the  subways.  But  gen- 
erally speaking,  in  both  of  these,  the  opportunities  and 
lines  of  advance  arc  very  like  those  in  the  railroad  busi- 
ness. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  fact  that  many  high  officials  of 
the  railways  have  risen  from  the  ranks,  and  of  the  quali- 
ties that  help  towards  success.  Here  are  two  examples 
of  men  who  have  achieved  this  success.  The  following  ac- 
count of  W.  C.  Brown,  the  former  president  of  the  New 
York  Central  Railway ,  is  quoted  from  an  article  in  Leslie's 
Weekly. 

"  Many  a  king  rules  over  less  of  an  empire  than  that 
over  which  Mr.  Brown  holds  sway.  The  New  York  Cen- 
tral system  has  a  peaceful  standing  army  of  150,000  em- 
ployees. Its  expenditures  were  no  less  than  $150,000,000 
annually.  There  are  few  offices  of  state  that  compare  in 
dignity  and  in  power  with  the  headship  of  such  a  sys- 
tem. 

"'The  little  man  unafraid,'  he  has  been  called.  It  is 
astonishing,  when  you  recall  his  small  stature;  and  youth- 
ful, even  jaunty,  appearance,  how  he  can  handle  men  so 
well. 

"  Mr.  Brown  began  his  railway  career  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen, when  he  entered  the  service  of  the  St.  Paul  Railroad 
in  the  capacity  of  a  section-hand  and  wooder  for  the  old- 
style  engines.  In  his  leisure  moments,  which  were  few  in- 
deed in  those  days,  he  studied  telegraphy.  He  set  for 
himself  no  definite  goal,  but  in  nine  months  had  qualified 
as  a  telegraph  operator,  and  in  two  years  became  a  train 
dispateher  on  the  Illinois  Central,  and  later  held  the  same 


TEANSFEEEING  OCCUPATIONS 


79 


position  for  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy.  At  one 
time  when  a  great  snow  storm  had  blocked  the  trains  on  his 
road,  he  had  finished  his  duty  as  train  dispatcher,  and 
might  have  gone  home,  but  instead,  because  he  discovered 
that  three  or  four  hundred  cars  of  stock  were  in  the  yards 
and  that  the  superintendent  was  at  his  wits'  end  as  to  how 
to  get  them  to  a  safe  place,  Mr.  Brown  helped  all  night 
and  the  cattle  were  saved.  The  president  of  the  road  was 
so  impressed  that  a  train  dispatcher  had  actually  volun- 
teered to  work  outside  of  his  particular  line  for  a  full 
night,  that  he  kept  him  in  mind  and  before  many  years 
had  passed,  W.  0.  Brown  was  made  General  Manager  of 
the  Iowa  lines  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy. 

"As  an  authority  on  railroading,  William  C.  Brown 
stands  foremost  among  the  railway  men  of  the  United 
States.  His  knowledge  of  the  industry  is  intimate  —  he 
has  served  in  almost  every  capacity  under  the  system,  and 
has  learned  by  experience  the  intricate  workings  of  each 
separate  department;  and  besides  this  knowledge  he  has 
a  wonderful  organizing  and  executive  ability." 

The  other  example  is  that  of  John  C.  Stubbs,  who  at 
sixty-five  years  of  age  retired  as  director  in  charge  of  all 
traffic  of  the  Union  and  Southern  Pacific  railroads.     He 
began  his  work  by  checking  freight  for  the  government 
at  Nashville,  Tcnn.     At  the  age  of  twenty-three,  he  went 
to    Sacramento    as    chief    clerk    of    the    general    freight 
agent  of  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad.     At  twenty-four, 
he   was   assistant   general    freight   agent;    at    twenty-six, 
general  freight  agent;  at  thirty-four,  freight  traffic  man- 
ager;  and  later,  general  traffic  manager.     At  forty-one, 
he  was  vice-president  of  the  railroad  and  at  forty-three, 
director  of  traffic  for   the   Union   Pacific   and    Southern 
•  Pacific  lines,  and  vice-president  of  the  Union  Pacific  and 
Oregon  Short  Line.     He  received  the  largest  salary  ever 


80  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

paid  a  traffic  director.  It  is  said  that  the  secret  of  his 
success  was  his  power  of  doing  a  tremendous  amount  of 
work. 

BANKING 

Transportation  has  to  do  with  the  carrying  of  goods 
and  people;  banking  with  the  transferring  of  money,  or 
of  credit  which  answers  all  the  purposes  of  money.  In 
our  earliest  colonial  days,  money  was  not  so  much  needed, 
because  the  goods  themselves  were  exchanged.  But  busi- 
ness soon  developed  so  that  both  money  and  banks  were 
essential,  and  the  importance  of  these  banks  has  grown 
until  now  they  are  back  of  almost  all  commercial  undertak- 
ings. For  instance,  imagine  a  man  in  business  who  has 
given  a  good  deal  of  credit  to  his  customers.  He  may 
know  that  a  certain  amount  of  money  will  come  in  to  him 
in  the  future  but  he  needs  that  money  now  in  his  business. 
He  goes  to  the  bank  which  knows  his  standing  in  the 
business  world  and  gets  "  credit  "  and  so  is  able  to  carry 
on  his  projects  before  his  actual  money  comes  in.  Or 
another  man  may  have  given  him  a  note  which  he  knows 
is  good  but  which  he  would  like  to  collect  before  it  is  due. 
He  takes  this  note  to  the  bank,  and  if  the  bankers  can  prove 
that  it  is  good,  he  is  paid  whatever  it  is  worth  at  that 
time. 

In  order  to  carry  on  this  system  of  credit  the  bank 
must  have  its  own  capital,  and  besides  this  it  adds  to  its 
funds  by  taking  charge  of  money  for  other  people  with 
the  privilege  of  lending  it  at  interest.  By  means  of 
checks,  notes,  and  orders,  much  credit  is  exchanged  without 
actual  money,  but  the  bank  must  be  ready  to  pay  money 
for  these  whenever  asked.  Here  we  see  how  banking  is 
really  a  connecting  link  between  the  occupations ;  it  stands 
back   of   the   farmer,    the   merchant,    the   manufacturer. 


TRANSFERRING  OCCUPATIONS  81 

There  are  many  different  kinds  of  banks,  such  as 
national  banks,  state  banks,  commercial  banks  and  trust 
companies ;  but  all  perform  essentially  the  same  serv- 
ice. 

Bank  work  is  for  the  majority  of  the  clerks  a  good  deal 
like  that  of  a  bookkeeper.  The  tellers,  however,  are  en- 
gaged largely  in  the  handling  of  money.  The  officers 
have  executive  positions  with  more  responsibility. 

Qualifications 

1.  One  of  the  first  essentials  put  by  all  bankers  is  char- 
acter. One  who  applies  for  a  position  must  first  of  all 
be  upright  and  without  bad  habits.  Although  the  expert 
examination  of  books  and  government  inspection  has  de- 
veloped to  such  an  extent  that  it  is  getting  more  and  more 
difficult  for  a  bank  clerk  to  be  dishonest,  yet  the  banker 
will  run  no  risks  by  taking  any  one  of  uncertain  character. 
The  fact  that  bank  clerks  are  put  under  bonds  shows  that 
there  is  a  strong  temptation  to  dishonesty.  Some  banks 
will  not  take  a  man  unless  they  feel  sure  that  he  can  sup- 
port those  dependent  upon  him  —  for  instance,  they  will 
take  no  married  men  in  the  positions  below  a  certain  sal- 
ary —  so  that  they  may  not  be  tempted  to  get  money  dis- 
honestly. 

2.  He  must  be  intelligent  and  skillful  in  handling  fig- 
ures. The  new  adding  machines  and  interest  tables  have 
almost  eliminated  the  long  adding  and  multiplying  pro- 
cesses that  bank  clerks  had  to  go  through.  However,  there 
is  still  the  complicated  system  of  bank  bookkeeping  which 
demands  a  good  clear  head. 

3.  He  must  have  a  special  taste  for  this  sort  of  busi- 
ness. The  bank  is  primarily  a  place  where  things  are 
done  in  a  routine  way  and  there  is  not  much  room  for 
originality.     It  appeals  to  a  boy  of  just  the  opposite  typv 


82  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

from  the  one  who  goes  into  manufacturing  or  engineering. 
It,  requires  intelligence  but  not  inventiveness. 

Preparation 

-ivfany  boys  start  when  young  as  messenger  boys  and  learn 
the  business  in  the  bank,  with,  at  first,  very  small  pay. 
But  a  certain  amount  of  schooling  is  now  considered  a 
great  advantage.  The  schools  of  commerce,  especially 
those  connected  with  the  universities,  have  courses  in  bank- 
ing and  young  men  with  this  training  may  begin  with  a 
better  position  and  have  a  much  surer  foundation.  Bank- 
ers and  business  men  all  around  are  learning  to  have  more 
and  more  confidence  in  these  schools. 


O 


PrOKTUNITIES 


Here  as  elsewhere  there  are  employees  who  do  not  re- 
quire special  training  and  therefore  do  not  have  the  chance 
to  rise.  These  are  janitors  and  attendants  of  various  kinds. 
But  we  shall  consider  the  places  that  are  in  the  line  of 
advancement.  There  is  usually  a  rather  regular  but  slow 
promotion,  although  every  bank  does  not  have  the  same 
system.  In  large?  cities,  boys  ordinarily  start  in  as  mes- 
sengers at  $25  or  $30  a  month.  After  this,  they  may  be- 
come collectors,  clerks,  tellers,  bookkeepers,  and  cashiers, 
with  their  assistants.  The  difference  between  clerks  and 
tellers  may  be  defined  somewhat  by  their  original  meaning; 
a  clerk  being  a  writer  and  a  teller  a  counter.  The  clerk's 
work  has  to  do  with  the  keeping  of  accounts  while  the 
teller  has  more  to  do  with  the  actual  handling  of  money. 
The  order  of  advancement  is  somewhat  as  follows:  collec- 
tor—  assistant  to  clerk  —  assistant  to  teller — assistant 
to  bookkeeper  —  collection,  coupon,  or  corresponding  clerk 
—  note,  receiving,  or  paying  teller  —  bookkeeper  —  as- 
sistant cashier  —  cashier.      Bookkeepers  may  receive  from 


TRANSFERRING  OCCUPATIONS 


83 


$1200  to  $1500  a  year.  The  advancement  is  rather  slow 
but  the  work  is  secure;  while  in  most  banks  there  is  an 
excellent  opportunity  to  work  to  a  competence.  The  offi- 
cers usually  command  very  good  salaries. 

A  great  satisfaction  that  comes  from  banking  is  that  of 
feeling  that  one's  work  is  done  in  an  accurate,  clean-cut, 
business-like  way.  Then,  too,  many  young  men  are  will- 
ing to  work  in  a  bank  at  a  smaller  salary  than  elsewhere, 
because  of  the  clean  and  pleasant  surroundings  and  be- 
cause of  a  certain  respectability  that  seems  to  go  with  it. 
The  hours,  also,  are  short  and  the  work  usually  not  unduly 
hard. 

One  young  man  thought  that  he  had  the  qualifications 
of  an  architect  and  set  out  to  prepare  for  that  profession. 
He  did  have  the  required  talent  and  liked  the  work,  but 
one  day  he  came  to  his  father  and  said,  "I  can't  do  it. 
I  see  plainly  that  before  T  can  make  my  reputation,  I 
shall  have  years  of  soliciting  work,  and  T  shall  be  obliged 
to  spend  much  time  on  cheap  barns,  sheds,  and  other  in- 
artistic work."  This  he  felt  that  he  could  not  do  as  he 
had  not  the  confidence  necessary  to  force  his  way.  So  he 
tried  one  or  two  other  things  and  finally  obtained  work  in  a 
bank.  Here  he  began  near  the  bottom  but  he  soon  found 
that  he  had  discovered  the  work  in  which  he  could  be  happy. 
He  made  himself  so  useful  that  the  banker  took  pains  to 
hunt  his  father  up  and  tell  him  how  pleased  he  was.  With 
the  boy's  temperament,  in  spite  of  his  love  for  architecture, 
he  never  could  have  stood  that  work ;  but  he  was  happy  in 
the  bank  where  he  had  plenty  of  work  to  do  but  did  not  have 
to  go  outside  to  solicit  it. 

Again  the  banker  may  have  the  satisfaction  of  feeling 
that  he  is  doing  a  work  that  is  necessary  to  almost  every 
business.  A  great  many  undertakings  would  never  have 
started  had  they  not  had  the  banks  back  of  them.     Amos 


84  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

K.  Fiske,  in  The  Modern  Bank,  says,  "  The  bank  is  the 
most  important  instrumentality  in  the  modern  system  of 
industry  and  trade.  Without  it  this  system  could  never 
have  developed,  and  without  it,  could  not  now  be  main- 
tained." 

Disadvantages 

As  to  the  disadvantages,  the  work  is  entirely  indoors 
and  sedentary  in  its  character,  so  that  a  boy  of  active  tem- 
permanent  or  one  whose  health  is  not  good,  should  not  un- 
dertake it.  Also,  bank  bookkeeping  is  said  to  be  pecu- 
liarly hard  on  the  eyes,  and  very  often  boys  find  after  sev- 
eral years  that  their  eyes  will  not  stand  the  strain. 

Women  in  Banking 

Many  women  are  attracted  to  banking  and  we  find  them 
in  very  good  positions.  They  may  start  in  as  stenogra- 
phers or  secretaries  and  may  become  clerks  and  even  tellers. 
One  young  woman  worked  in  her  father's  bank  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  and  finally  became  cashier.  At  her  father's 
death,  she  became  a  large  shareholder  and  was  elected  as 
president.  This  is  of  course  an  extreme  case,  but  many 
women  hold  positions  in  banks  with  good  salaries  and 
agreeable  surroundings. 

EXERCISES 

1.  Mention  the  companies  in  your  part  of  the  country  that  repre- 
sent the  business  of  transportation.  Make  a  list  of  the  other  occupa- 
tions that  are  in  any  way  dependent  upon  these. 

2.  What  new  means  of  transportation  is  likely  to  be  very  import- 
ant in  the  future?  What  qualifications  do  you  think  a  man  should 
have  for  this  sort  of  work?     Is  it  suitable  for  a  woman?     Why? 

3.  Have  you  ever  seen  men  working  in  the  Maintenance-of-Way 
Department?  Write  a  theme  on  the  conditions  and  the  importance 
of  their  work. 


TRANSFERRING    OCCUPATIONS  85 

4.  Can  you  think  of  any  incidents  that  have  demanded  the  same 
qualities  in  railroad  employees  that  are  required  in  the  soldier? 

5.  Make  a  list  of  the  qualities  required  by  a  telegraph  operator. 
Could  a  woman  do  this  work? 

6.  Why  might  the  yard  master  be  called  a  "general"?  Write 
an  imaginary  story  of  the  work  of  a  night  yard  master. 

7.  Make  a  list  of  all  the  positions  in  railroading  that  you  think  a 
woman  might  fill. 

8.  A  railroad  passenger  brakeman  said  he  had  twice  lost  his 
chance  of  promotion,  because  he  had  failed  to  give  the  proper  signal 
with  his  lantern.  He  remarked,  moreover,  that  he  did  not  wish  to 
become  a  conductor  because  he  dreaded  the  responsibility.  Write  a 
character  sketch  of  this  young  man. 

9.  Examine  the  list  of  qualifications  given  in  this  chapter  as 
requisite  for  men  in  the  railroad  business.  For  each  one  think  of 
an  illustration  to  show  its  value. 

10.  In   Kipling's  poem,  "  The  'Eathen,"   occurs  this  line, 

"  But  the  backbone  of  the  Army  is  the  non-commissioned  man !  " 
Do  you  believe  that  this  same  principle  applies  to  the  railroad  busi- 
ness?    Defend  your  opinion. 

11.  If  a  boy  has  executive  ability  or  the  power  of  leadership,  what 
line  of  procedure  would  you  advise  in  order  that  he  might  attain  in 
railroading  the  best  position  of  which  he  is  capable? 

12.  In  what  ways  does  a  bank  make  its  profits?  Does  it  run  any 
risk  of  losing  money?  How  does  the  government  stand  back  of  the 
banks? 

13.  Make  a  diagram  similar  to  the  one  showing  the  organization 
of  railroads,  doing  the  same  thing  for  the  organization  of  the  banking 
business. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Fleming,  Ralph  D.  Railroad  and  Street  Transportation.  Cleve- 
land foundation.     1916. 

Hungerford.     The  Modern  Railroad. 

McPherson,  L.  C.  The  Working  of  the  Railroads.  Henry  Holt  & 
Co.,  1907. 

Willliams,  Archibald.  The  Romance  of  Modern  Locomotion.  J. 
B.  Lippincott  Co.,  1904. 

Willson,  Beckles.  The  Story  of  Rapid  Transit.  D.  Appleton  & 
Co.,  1903. 


86  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

Fiske,  Amos  K.     The  Modern  Bank.     D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  1904. 

Eaton,  J.  S.  Education  for  Efficiency  in  Railroad  Service.  United 
States  Department  of  Education,  Washington,  D.  C.  Bulletin 
No.  420. 

Johnson,  Emory  K.  Americai  Railway  Transportation.  D.  Apple- 
ton  &  Co.,  1903 

Fag  an,  J.  0  The  Confessions  of  a  Railroad  Signalman.  Houghton, 
Mifflin  Co.,  1908. 


CHAPTER  V 

MANUFACTURING  AND  THE  BUILDING 

TRADES 

Alter  our  earth  occupations  have  done  their  work  in 
extracting  the  materials  of  our  natural  resources,  and 
after  transportation  has  carried  these  materials  to  the 
big  plants,  and  our  hanking  system  has  demonstrated  its 
ability  to  stand  back  of  business  enterprises,  then  comes 
the  work  of  the  great  manufacturing  and  building  con- 
cerns which  take  this  raw  material  and  transform  it  for  us 
into  a  usable  form.  This  occupation  has  far  more  branches 
than  any  that  we  have  yet  studied.  Any  one  of  the  com- 
modities produced  in  the  earth  occupations  represents  the 
possibility  of  many  industries.  Take  the  wood  from 
our  forests,  and  we  have  lumber  mills,  paper  mills,  furni- 
ture factories,  building  trades,  wagon  works;  take  the 
stock  farms,  and  we  have  packing  houses,  with  their  im- 
mense manufacture  of  by-products  besides  the  leather 
business,  the  great  shoe  and  glove  industry  and  many 
others;  take  the  mines,  and  we  have  gigantic  iron  works 
and  steel  mills  with  all  that  come  from  them,  the  making 
of  machines  of  an  infinite  variety,  besides  steel  rails,  farm- 
ing implements,  automobiles,  steel  cars,  and  so  on  and  on 
we  might  go  until  we  had  spent  much  time  in  merely  enu- 
merating the  products  of  our  tremendous  industrial  system. 

Unlike  agriculture  and  even  transportation  in  certain 
forms,  manufacturing  did  not  begin  with  the  earliest  his- 
tory of  our  country.     Such  articles  as  were  produced  in 

87 


88  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

the  colonies  were  made  almost  entirely  by  hand  and  in 
the  home.  One  exception  to  this  is  the  shipbuilding  in- 
dustry, which  began  and  reached  importance  rather  early. 
By  slow  degrees  this  business  of  making  things  left  the 
home,  found  lodgment  in  small  shops,  then  in  larger  shops, 
until  now  we  have  an  industrial  system  far  beyond  the 
wildest  imagination  of  our  forefathers. 

Think  for  a  moment  of  just  one  or  two  examples  of  the 
amount  of  work  that  is  being  dune  and  of  the  marvelous 
growth  in  manufacturing  trades.  Charles  M.  Schwab  tells 
us  that  the  amount  of  steel  produced  in  this  country  has 
increased  since  1880  from  less  than  a  million  tons  in  one 
year  to  over  forty  million  tons,  which  is  the  amount  that 
was  produced  in  1917.  In  188G  the  first  steel  girder  for 
a  skyscraper  was  rolled ;  to-day  more  than  five  million 
tons  of  steel  a  year  are  used  for  buildings.  And  so  we 
might  go  on  telling  of  the  manufacture  of  many  compara- 
tively new  articles,  of  steel  cars,  of  automobiles  —  it  is  not 
many  years  since  the  first  of  these  appeared,  and  now  we 
need  no  figures  in  order  to  realize  the  increase  in  output  — 
of  bicycles,  tireless  cookers,  typewriters,  and  so  on  almost 
without  end.  Or  take  an  article  that  is  not  new,  but  the 
amount  of  production  of  which  has  increased  greatly  in 
the  last  twenty  years.  There  are  in  this  country  almost 
2000  shoe  factories  with  an  aggregate  capital  of  over 
$200,000,000.  If  these  figures  do  not  seem  large  enough, 
look  in  the  reports  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  the 
Census,  and  you  can  find  the  statistics  of  many  other  in- 
dustries, so  large  and  so  numerous  that  you  will  be  amazed 
at  the  wonders  of  our  American  industrial  system. 

Now,  when  one  looks  at  this  occupation  of  manufac- 
turing, with  its  many  intricacies  of  work  of  every  con- 
ceivable kind,  how  is  it  in  any  way  possible  for  him  to 
decide  whether  or  not  he  will  choose  it  as  his  vocation  ? 


MANUFACTURING    AND    THE     BUILDING    TRADES  89 

How  have  the  successful  manufacturers  found  their  places? 
Have  they  set  definite  goals  and  worked  toward  and  at- 
tained them,  or  has  the  opportunity  come  to  them  unex- 
pectedly ?  Sometimes,  to  be  sure,  men  attain  positions 
of  importance  in  certain  lines,  because  they  have  achieved 
success  in  some  other  business,  and  are  sought  out  on  this 
account  through  no  definite  effort  of  their  own.  Two 
great  "steel  kings''  are  examples  of  this:  Andrew  Car- 
negie, who  was  first  a  railroad  man,  and  Judge  Gary, 
who  was  a  prominent  lawyer.  But  these  are  exceptions 
and  it  is  becoming  more  and  more  important  for  the  young 
man  to  decide  on  what  sort  of  position  he  will  make  his 
goal.  Manufacturing  is  too  broad  a  term.  He  must 
narrow  it  down  before  he  can  decide  whether  he  has  the 
necessary  qualities  and  how  he  will  get  his  preparation. 
He  might  be  a  mechanic  or  a  machinist  and  be  able  to 
work  his  way  to  his  proper  place  along  that  line;  or 
he  might  have  the  type  of  mind  that  finds  its  expression 
in  the  sciences  and  so  he  would  fit  into  the  work  of  in- 
dustrial chemist;  or  again  he  might  be  the  more  purely 
active  business  sort  of  person  and  would  prefer  the  office 
and  salesmen  side  of  the  concern.  Moreover  with  anv  of 
these  tendencies  he  might  have  a  special  executive  abil- 
ity or  gift  in  handling  men  that  would  urge  him  011  to 
attain  the  leadership  in  some  department.  The  work 
of  the  chemist  we  shall  discuss  later  when  we  come  to 
speak  of  the  professions.  The  business  side  of  manufactur- 
ing is  really  not  manufacturing,  and  will  be  treated  under 
the  commercial  occupations,  while  many  other  branches, 
such  as  engineering,  social  service  work,  or  library  man- 
agement, all  belong  to  other  groups  as  well  as  to  manufac- 
turing. In  this  place  we  shall  try  to  discuss  the  charac- 
teristics of  manufacturing  that  distinguish  it  from  other 
groups. 


90  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

Qualifications 

Since  this  occupation  has  to  do  primarily  with  the  mak- 
ing of  things,  let  us  first  of  all  consider  the  qualities  that 
are  desirable  for  those  actually  working  in  the  shops  or 
connected  with  them. 

1.  One  should  have  manual  skill.  This  means  the  abil- 
ity to  handle  materials  deftly  and  to  make  things  that  are 
workman-like.  Whether  your  ability  is  of  the  sort  to 
keep  you  always  as  a  wage  earner,  or  whether  you  have  the 
capacity  that  will  put  you  in  line  for  advancement,  this 
skill  is  the  first  requisite.  You  will  start  out  dealing  with 
things  rather  than  with  people  and  your  success  will  de- 
pend upon  your  ability  to  use  your  hands  quickly  and 
accurately.  Not  only  success  in  your  work  but  your 
very  safety  will  often  depend  upon  this ;  for  there  is  still 
danger  in  slow  movements  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  many 
new  safety  appliances  have  been  invented  and  installed. 
Then  too,  although  machinery  has  been  improved  for  the 
purpose  of  doing  accurate  work,  there  is  still  room  for  in- 
dividual care,  both  in  certain  kinds  of  work  that  must  be 
done  by  hand,  and  in  the  manipulation  of  machines.  Fac- 
tories are  beginning  now  to  increase  the  income  of  work- 
men beyond  their  wages  by  giving  bonuses  for  work  ex- 
ceeding the  standard  requirements  in  quality  and  quantity. 
This  improved  work  depends,  they  say,  largely  upon  man- 
ual dexterity.  Possibly  the  variety  of  skill  that  was  nec- 
essary when  one  man  made  the  entire  article  is  not  needed 
now,  but  in  the  part  of  the  work  to  which  he  is  assigned  he 
must  be  even  quicker  and  more  exact. 

Most  boys  are  constantly  undertaking,  both  in  work 
and  play,  things  that  will  help  to  test  their  manual  skill. 
A  man  who  has  attained  a  prominent  place  in  a  profes- 
sion that  requires  chiefly  mental  ability,  says  that  he  has 


MANUFACTURING    AND    THE    BUILDING    TRADES  91 

all  his  life  been  handicapped  by  an  utter  lack  of  manual 
skill.  He  would  have  made  a  serious  mistake  had  he 
started  out  for  a  place  in  the  manufacturing  business. 
In  contrast  to  him,  let  me  quote  from  the  Scientific  Ameri- 
can an  account  of  how  a  sixteen-year-old  high  school  boy 
built  a  motor  invalid  chair.  What  a  mistake  it  would  be 
for  a  boy  of  this  sort  to  go  into  work  where  he  could  not 
use  his  hands !  Here  is  the  story  of  what  he  did.  '  He 
built  this  chair  out  of  discarded  dishpans,  brass  fenders, 
window  sash  chains,  gas  pipe,  part  of  an  old  bedstead  and 
various  other  wornont  articles.  In  an  amateur  shop,  lo- 
cated in  his  mother's  kitchen,  the  boy  first  repaired  the 
framework  of  a  broken-down  invalid  chair.  A  heavier 
axle  was  turned  upon  his  lathe.  He  had  a  smashed 
motor  cycle,  the  wheels  of  which  he  rebuilt,  cutting  them 
from  30  to  28  inches.  Pneumatic  tires  were  the  only 
new  thing  about  the  whole  chair.  A  gasoline  tank  was 
made  from  the  dishpan,  and  incased  in  a  box  made  from 
the  thin  cherry  paneling  of  the  headboard  of  an  old  bed. 
Stop  cocks  from  an  old  gas  stove  were  used  to  regulate  the 
flow  of  gasoline.  A  belt  drive  being  found  inadequate,  the 
boy  substituted  a  chain  drive.  A  band  brake  on  the  left 
side  of  the  motor  chair,  made  from  the  iron  hoop  of  an 
old  wash  tub,  works  on  a  drum  cut  from  a  casting.  The 
same  lever  that  throws  out  the  clutch  applies  the  brake. 
The  tire  of  the  front  wheel  is  wrapped  with  a  brass 
window  chain  to  prevent  skidding,  the  rear  wheels  being 
equipped  with  antiskid  tires.  The  lever  controlling  the 
supply  of  gas  feeding  into  the  carbureter  is  made  from  an 
old  file.  The  cut-off  valve  is  made  from  a  one  half  inch 
gas  pipe  "  T,"  a  brass  curtain  rod  and  a  clock  spring. 
The  steering  lever  is  made  from  a  length  of  gas  pipe  and 
the  end  of  a  mop  handle.  The  2%  horse-power  motor  is 
air-cooled,  the  fan  being  made  from  an  old  brass  fender, 


92  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

and  the  blower-case  from  a  tin  can  which  at  one  time  held 
a  gallon  of  apple  butter.  The  blower-ease  is  covered  with 
asbestos  to  deaden  the  sound.  The  boy  constructed  the 
entire  oiling  system  from  brass  tubing  and  a  little  solder. 
A  tiny  bicycle  lamp  to  comply  with  the  city  ordinance  com- 
pletes the  outfit."  You  can  see,  indeed,  that  it  would  take 
qualities  other  than  manual  skill  to  accomplish  this,  but 
the  ingenuity  required  is  one  great  asset  for  one  hoping  to 
be  a  success  in  the  manufacturing  business. 

2.  It  required  the  very  quality  that  we  would  men- 
tion next,  namely,  inventiveness.  That  is,  if  one  meets 
a  difficulty,  he  should  be  able  to  find  for  himself  some 
way  of  getting  around  it.  It  is  probably  to  some  extent 
the  lack  of  this  ability  that  caused  one  manufacturer  to 
say  that  certain  men  with  the  very  best  training  failed  in 
his  business:  they  knew  what  was  in  the  books,  but  when  a 
new  problem  arose  they  seemed  helpless.  In  these  days  of 
keen  competition,  every  one  in  a  factory  must  be  on  the 
alert  to  see  ways  to  decrease  the  cost  or  time  of  production, 
and  the  man  with  a  little  inventiveness  can  often  suggest 
something  of  value.  A  young  man,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
load  boxes  of  the  finished  product  on  to  trucks,  invented 
a  means  of  loading  five  or  six  times  as  many  at  once  as 
before.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  he  did  not  stay  long 
doing  that  hard  manual  work.  By  this  quality  we  do  not 
mean  a  real  genius  for  invention.  That  is  a  gift  that  very 
few  possess,  but  there  is  a  sort  of  minor  inventiveness,  an 
orii>inalitv  that  sees  how  things  can  be  done,  not  a  rare 
quality  but  one  that  all  persons  do  not  possess.  Another 
man  who  had  this  ability,  while  working  in  a  glove  factory, 
invented  a  way  of  finishing  the  fingers  of  heavy  working 
gloves  so  that  they  would  not  rip  so  easily;  one  in  an 
envelop  factory,  thought  out  a  fastener  that  would  close 
but  not  seal  envelopes  containing  second  class  mail.     Fred- 


MANUFACTURING'  AND    THE    BUILDING    TRADES  93 

erick  J.  Allen  in  his  book  on  The  Shoe  Industry  tells  us 
that  most  of  the  machines  for  making  shoes  have  been  in- 
vented by  shoe  workers  themselves,  often  after  long  toil 
and  study  of  particular  processes.  "  Inventive  genius 
and  mechanical  skill  have  been  granted  about  '7,000  patents 
on  shoe  machinery  since  the  establishment  of  the  United 
States  Patent  Office  in  1836."  So  you  can  see  how  one 
engaged  in  the  making  of  things  has  an  opportunity  to 
use  what  inventiveness  he  has  so  as  to  make  his  machine 
more  productive  or  his  product  more  valuable.  In  your 
everyday  life,  you  can  tell  to  some  extent  whether  or  not 
you  have  any  ability  of  this  sort.  Can  you  figure  out  how 
to  put  up  shelves,  how  to  make  a  refractory  window  work, 
or  to  mend  an  electric  bell  ?  If  you  are  constantly  obliged 
to  turn  to  some  one  else  for  this  sort  of  work,  it  is  likely 
that  your  interest  will  not  be  in  this  branch  of  occupations. 
But  if  your  ability  is  along  mechanical  lines,  and  you  are 
interested  in  the  work  of  men  like  Edison,  Tesla,  Marconi, 
Steinmetz,  and  Westinghouse ;  or  if  you  are  fascinated 
with  the  idea  of  seeing  things  grow,  wThether  they  be  ma- 
chines or  buildings  or  great  manufacturing  plants,  it 
would  be  well  for  you  to  think  seriously  about  going  into 
one  of  these  industries. 

3.  One  should  have  a  liking  for  machinery,  power,  and 
tools.  He  should  like  to  work  around  engines,  must  be 
able  to  understand  how  pulleys  are  put  up,  how  belts  are 
placed,  and  must  not  object  to  getting  his  hands  dirty. 
In  many  factories  he  will  have  a  complicated  machine  to 
operate,  and  in  some  must  be  able  to  make  his  own  adjust- 
ments and  repairs.  Always  he  will  be  more  successful  if 
he  can  do  this,  for  it  is  by  fully  understanding  the  parts 
of  a  machine  that  he  can  do  the  best  work  with  it  and  can 
make  it  last  longer. 

4.  The  individual  who  would  succeed  in  this  sort  of 


94  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

work  must  be  interested  in  his  occupation  enough  to  learn 
the  trade  and  be  proud  of  his  mastery  of  it.  If  he  is  am- 
bitious to  rise  to  the  position  of  foreman  or  higher,  he 
should  be  able  at  any  time  to  show  the  workmen  how  to 
do  a  particular  piece  of  work.  While  the  beginner  does 
just  one  thing  and  may  learn  to  do  that  well  enough  to 
hold  his  job,  he  must  be  interested  beyond  that  if  he  would 
go  ahead. 

5.  He  should  have  some  skill  in  mechanical  drawing, 
that  is,  the  ability  to  make  and  to  read  drawings.  One 
superintendent  of  a  factory  said  that  he  was  willing  to 
hire  boys  with  no  further  equipment  than  that  of  English, 
mathematics,  and  the  ability  to  understand  mechanical 
drawings. 

6.  As  a  rule  there  must  be  the  willingness  to  do  heavy 
work,  though  of  course  this  depends  upon  the  kind  of 
factory  and  one's  position  in  it. 

7.  He  should  have  the  power  of  concentration.  In 
many  factories,  under  the  new  efficiency  regime,  it  has 
been  calculated  just  how  much  work  can  be  done  by  each 
machine  each  minute.  To  accomplish  this  maximum,  the 
man  at  the  machine  must  not  relax  his  attention  once. 
One  employer  said  that  he  was  obliged  to  dismiss  many 
girls  from  his  factory  because  of  their  inability  to  keep 
from  looking  up  from  their  work. 

Preparation 

Now  suppose  that  this  great  industry  of  getting  natural 
products  ready  for  use  attracts  you,  and  suppose  that  you 
have  decided  that  you  have  the  qualities  necessary  for  such 
work,  how  will  you  go  to  work  to  prepare  yourself  for 
this  vocation?  To  state  what  should  be  the  preparation 
of  the  manufacturer  is  by  no  means  so  simple  as  to  state 
that  of  the  professional  man,  the  civil  service  employee,  or 


MANUFACTURING    AND    THE    BUILDING    TRADES  95 

the  farmer.  According  to  many  men  who  have  reached 
the  top  in  these  lines  the  best  preparation  is  to  learn  a 
trade.  There  are  schools  for  this  purpose.  Also  in  many 
factories  and  machine  shops  the  apprentice  system  is  still 
in  use.  Efforts  are  being  made  to  improve  the  apprentice 
system  so  that  it  may  be  more  educative  than  it  has  been 
in  recent  years. 

To  repeat, —  in  almost  every  trade  you  will  find  the 
divisions    of    unskilled    and    of    skilled    workmen.     The 
former  may  easily  learn  in  the  factory  how  to  perform 
his  task,  and  moreover  his  time  for  learning  will  prob- 
ably be  only  a  matter  of  days.     People  connected  with 
different  sorts  of  factories  say  that  boys  and  girls  come 
there  with  little  preparation  or  education   of  any  sort, 
and  that  they  soon  learn  to  perform  some  simple  task 
at  a  machine  or  in  hand  work,  and  can  earn  a  living; 
but  it  often  takes  years  for  these  people  to  get  into  the 
class  of  skilled  workmen.     In  the  largest  factories,  this 
promotion  is  very  difficult,  as  a  workman  is  likely  to  be 
kept  in  the  place  where  he  is  doing  satisfactory  work. 
In  the  smaller  factories  of  certain  trades,  inexperienced 
persons  have  a  better  chance  to  learn  a  variety  of  processes. 
It  is  rather  common  for  people  who  have  learned  in  this 
way   to   enter   the   large    factories    as    skilled    workmen. 
Trade  schools  are  to  be  found  in  large  cities  and  public 
schools  are  more  and  more  giving  trade  courses.     Employ- 
ers see  the  value  of  these  to  such  an  extent  that  in  some 
cases  they  are  willing  to  give  the  boys  working  for  them 
two  or  three  hours  every  day  for  the  purpose  of  getting 
this  training. 

The  higher  the  position  for  which  you  aim  the  more 
thorough  the  preparation  that  you  will  require.  While  a 
technical  education  gives  what  can  be  gained  in  no  other 
way,  the  prospective  manager  or  superintendent  needs  more 


9G  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

than  this.  It  is  well  for  a  boy  who  aspires  to  such  a  posi- 
tion to  have,  first  of  all,  a  good  general  training.  He 
should  know,  accounting,  bookkeeping,  and  general  busi- 
ness methods.  In  his  days  of  preparation  he  should  take 
part  in  activities  that  will  develop  his  executive  ability; 
and  he  should  gain  as  much'  all-round  information  as  pos- 
sible ;  for  the  more  he  knows  of  general  problems,  the  bet- 
ter able  he  will  be  to  give  judgment  in  his  own  department 
of  work.  Andrew  Carnegie  tells  how  he  w7as  once  asked 
by  President  Edgar  Thomson  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railway 
to  take  the  position  of  Master  of  Machinery.  When  Car- 
negie told  him  that  he  knew  nothing  about  machinery,  the 
president  replied  that  that  was  why  he  wanted  him,  that 
specially  trained  mechanics,  because  of  their  lack  of  all 
round  education,  lacked  the  good  judgment  necessary  in  a 
manager.  This  does  not  mean  that  special  training  is  a 
detriment,  but  that  something  more  is  needed  by  those  at 
the  top. 

One  other  kind  of  training  is  at  the  present  time  pre- 
paring men  for  these  industries.  It  means  almost  as  long 
a  period  as  that  for  the  learned  professions.  Many  young 
men  in  the  universities  who  are  working  for  an  advanced 
degree  are  doing  research  work  in  the  laboratories  of  sci- 
ence. Here  have  been  made  discoveries  that  have  been 
found  of  value  in  the  industries  that  we  are  considering; 
for  instance,  in  the  making  of  steel,  and  of  cement,  in  the 
tanning  of  leather,  and  the  prevention  of  smoke.  One  of 
the  best  of  these  is  the  laboratory  in  the  University  of 
Pittsburgh,  and  here  manufacturers  often  bring  problems 
to  be  solved.  Many  young  men  who  by  working  in  these 
laboratories  are  helping  to  attain  their  degree,  go  from 
this  work  into  the  industries  and  so  are  prepared  for  impor- 
tant positions. 


MANUFACTURING    AND    THE    BUILDING    TRADES  97 

But  even  with  an  extensive  technical  training  a  young 
man  must  not  think  that  he  is  ready  to  take  a  leading  posi- 
tion in  a  manufacturing  business.  You  may  be  surprised 
to  learn  that  some  concerns  offer  apprenticeship  courses  to 
college  graduates.  They  pay  a  small  wage  while  they  are 
giving  practical  experience  in  every  kind  of  factory  work 
from  the  most  unskilled  labor  to  the  highest  skilled  me- 
chanic; besides  work  in  repairs  and  in  building  construc- 
tion. Men  working  in  the  factory  may  take  this  same 
course  provided  that  they  take  a  certain  amount  of  night 
school  work  first.  The  object  is  preparation  for  work  at 
the  top  of  the  ladder.  This  system  is  described  in  Indus- 
trial Management  for  May,  1917,  by  D wight  T.  Farnham. 
He  emphasizes  the  advantages  of  a  college  training  —  sixty 
per  cent,  of  the  executives  in  his  particular  business  are 
college  men  —  but  he  reminds  us  that  "  college  does  not 
make  wise  men  —  it  develops  them."  While  he  himself 
within  eighteen  months  had  helped  four  technical  school 
graduates  to  executive  positions,  it  was  not  only  their  col- 
lege training  that  helped  them  to  rise  but  their  enthusiasm, 
and  their  eagerness  to  learn  the  business. 

Then  there  is  still  another  kind  of  preparation,  namely, 
the  continual  learning  by  observation,  reading,  and  study. 
You  may  say  that  many  a  skilled  mechanic  has  kept  his 
position  without  this,  but  you  will  agree  that  a  sugges- 
tion given  by  no  less  a  person  than  Andrew  Carnegie  is 
worth  listening  to.  In  a  message  to  his  workmen,  he 
urges  much  reading  in  connection  with  their  work,  and 
for  this  purpose,  he  has  established  libraries  with  material 
for  this  sort  of  study.  For  example  he  suggests  that  if 
a  man  whose  work  is  connected  with  the  blast  furnace, 
should  read  and  learn  everything  that  had  been  done 
everywhere  in  this  line,  provided  that  he  is  at  all  inventive, 


98  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

he  would  undoubtedly  see  some  chance  for  improved  meth- 
ods, and  so  would  be  started  on  the  road  for  advance  in 
position. 

Now,  with  these  various  sources  of  preparation,  how 
will  you  choose  the  best  method  ?  In  the  first  place  if 
you  are  interested  in  the  manufacturing  business,  it  would 
be  well  to  read  up  the  details  of  the  requirements  of  many 
trades.  In  the  meantime  take  the  work  in  high  school 
that  will  help  to  develop  your  manual  skill  and  knowledge 
of  machinery.  When  you  have  finished  high  school,  if 
you  can  afford  it,  take  a  technical  course  in  your  chosen 
line,  always  with  the  idea  that  this  is  the  foundation  and 
that  you  must  learn  much  by  practical  experience  later. 
Constantly  get  all  of  the  general  information  possible. 
Then  be  willing  to  begin  at  the  bottom,  work  up  and  learn 
all  of  the  business  that  there  is  to  learn.  But  if  after 
your  high  school  course  you  cannot  afford  to  take  more 
time  or  money  for  training,  try  to  get  work  in  some  fac- 
tory that  has  the  apprentice  system,  and  be  willing  to  work 
hard  and  long  to  learn  your  trade.  Perhaps  you  could 
find  work  in  one  of  the  large  manufacturing  establishments, 
which  have  adopted  the  plan  of  taking  boys  for  a  period 
of  five  years'  apprenticeship  with  small  pay.  Here  a 
very  definite  and  systematic  record  is  kept  in  their  files 
and  while  the  boy  is  sent  from  one  department  to  another, 
his  personality,  his  habits,  his  punctuality,  his  ability  with 
machinery,  his  loyalty,  his  thoroughness,  are  carefully 
observed,  so  that  whether  or  not  he  gets  a  permanent  posi- 
tion at  the  end  of  that  period  is  not  a  matter  of  mere 
chance. 

Oppoktunities 

When  we  consider  that  in  this  country  an  army  of  over 
ten  million  is  employed  in  the  occupations  of  manufactur- 


MANUFACTURING    AND    THE    BUILDING    TEADES  99 

ing  and  building,  it  seems  that  there  must  be  room  for 
all  who  are  at  all  interested  in  that  sort  of  work.  And, 
except  in  times  of  unusual  business  depression,  this  is 
practically  true.  There  is  ample  room,  in  the  first  place, 
for  the  totally  unskilled  workman;  but  his  pay  is  neces- 
sarily very  small  —  in  some  places  not  more  than  $3.50 
per  week  —  and  his  work  is  monotonous,  consisting  per- 
haps of  constantly  pulling  the  lever  of  a  machine,  or 
pouring  molten  metal,  or  carrying  away  the  finished  pro- 
duct. Again  it  may  be  hard  physical  work,  such  as  lift- 
ing heavy  material.  It  is  true  that,  as  he  improves,  he 
may  be  given  a  little  more  agreeable  work,  and  his  wages 
may  increase  to  something  over  $8.00  per  week.  The 
carrying  on  of  almost  every  trade  needs  a  large  number 
of  this  class  of  workers ;  and  there  are  in  the  world  many 
people  whose  abilities  and  ambitions  are  such  as  to  keep 
them  at  just  this  sort  of  work.  Besides  these,  as  we  have 
learned,  there  will  be  found  among  the  unskilled  workers, 
boys  who  are  starting  out  to  learn  the  trade  and  who 
will  not  long  be  kept  in  this  class.  One  difference  between 
the  trades  and  the  professions  is  that,  whereas  in  the  lat- 
ter, one  needs  a  long  preparation  and  good  intelligence 
even  to  start  on  the  journey,  here  the  beginner  may  do 
without  either.  If,  however,  he  would  grow,  he  has  great 
need  of  the  qualifications  we  have  mentioned. 

The  next  division  of  this  great  army  is  made  up  of 
skilled  workmen.  If  a  boy  is  starting  out  to  learn  the 
trade  and  is  capable,  he  will  have  no  difficulty  in  being  ad- 
vanced to  this  class.  If  he  has  had  the  desirable  technical 
education,  he  may  even  start  here,  and  at  any  rate  he  will 
be  able  to  go  ahead  much  more  quickly  than  his  untrained 
companion.  As  a  skilled  laborer  his  wages  will  increase 
and  there  is  a  possibility  of  his  getting  as  high  as  $25.00 
per  week. 


100  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

The  following  figures  taken  from  the  reports  made  by  the 
Department  of  Labor  will  show  something  of  the  recent 
wages  in  different  lines : 

Trade  Wages  per  week 

Metal  Trades. 

Machinists   From  $13.00  to  $30.00 

Molders    From     16.00  to     24.00 

Printing  Trades. 

Machine   tenders    From  19.00  to  31.00 

Machine   operators    From  21.00  to  35.00 

Press   feeders    From  7.00  to  25.00 

Building  Trades. 

Bricklayers    From  25.00  to  55.00 

Laborers   From  10.00  to  25.00 

Carpenters   From  19.00  to  33.00 

Cement  workers   From  21.00  to  30.00 

Helpers    From  14.00  to  27.00 

Laborers    From  15.00  to  24.00 

Inside  wiremen    From  16.00  to  33.00 

Plumbers From  15.00  to  33.00 

Painters    From  12.00  to  33.00 

Inside    lathers    From  18.00  to  33.00 

Engineers  (Portable  and 

hoisting)    From  21.00  to  38.00 

From  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics,  May  15,  1916.     Wages  and  Hours 
of  Labor  Series,  No.  24. 

These  figures  are  about  4  per  cent,  higher  than  those  of 
1915.     In  1918  they  rose  by  a  much  larger  per  cent. 

From  the  skilled  workman,  the  next  steps  are  fore- 
man, manager,  superintendent,  and  partner.  What  chance 
has  the  ambitious  workman  to  gain  these  promotions,  and 
what  is  his  part  in  the  struggle?  Those  who  have  had 
long  and  successful  experience  tell  us  that  it  is  easy  for 
the  right  man  to  rise.  If  this  is  so,  how  are  we  to  explain 
the  stories  of  many  who  have  tried  and  failed  ?     Perhaps 


MANUFACTURING    AND    THE    BUILDING    TRADES        101 

you  have  heard  Jack  London's  account  of  how  he  at- 
tempted to  try  out  this  theory.  He  applied  for  work  in 
a  large  concern  and  was  put  at  shoveling  coal.  He  did 
his  best  and  shoveled  coal  so  much  faster  than  any  other 
workman,  that  the  manager  decided  he  could  get  along  with 
fewer  men,  and  London  was  given  twice  as  much  coal  to 
shovel.  The  better  he  did,  the  more  valuable  he  was  found 
in  that  particular  place,  until  the  work  became  unbearable 
and  he  thought  he  had  discovered  that  the  theory  of  a 
chance  to  rise  was  a  fallacy.  Now  was  he  right  and  if 
not  where  did  the  trouble  come  in  ? 

Andrew  Carnegie  very  clearly  explains  the  secret,  and 
we  find  that  his  judgment  is  agreed  with  by  many  manufac- 
turers. They  say  that  if  a  man  merely  discharges  his 
duty  conscientiously  and  well,  he  will  be  rewarded  by 
being  allowed  to  hold  his  job  as  long  as  he  does  satisfac- 
tory work.  This  is  a  good  ideal  for  bookkeepers,  stenog- 
raphers, and  bank  clerks  who  are  satisfied  with  their  po- 
sitions. And  so  long  as  it  gives  an  opportunity  of  earning 
one's  living  with  agreeable  work,  it  is  by  no  means  to  be 
despised.  But  in  the  manufacturing  business  if  a  boy 
would  advance,  he  must  do  more  than  the  sort  of  work  we 
have  just  described.  As  Carnegie  says,  he  must  "  attract 
attention."  If  he  looks  around,  he  will  see  many  oppor- 
tunities of  taking  responsibilities  outside  of  his  regular 
routine.  The  skilled  mechanic  with  a  talent  for  invention 
may  see  that  by  some  little  change  his  machine  can  do 
quicker  or  better  work.  This  is  his  opportunity  to  make 
a  suggestion  to  the  foreman.  Refer  again  to  the  illus- 
trations given  under  the  quality  "  inventiveness,"  and 
you  will  understand  what  is  meant  here. 

When  we  were  discussing  "  preparation  ' '  we  spoke  of 
the  necessity  of  continual  reading  and  study.  It  is  here 
that  the  advantage  of  such  reading  comes  in.     The  more 


102  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

a  workman  knows  of  what  has  been  and  can  be  done  with 
his  particular  sort  of  machine,  the  more  will  he  be  able 
to  suggest  in  regard  to  trying  new  experiments.  One  man- 
ufacturer said  that  his  business  had  lost  thousands  of  dol- 
lars because  there  was  no  one  who  had  done  this  sort  of 
thing;  and  that  a  man  who  had  been  ready  with  suggestions 
would  have  been  advanced  to  a  responsible  position.  Such 
a  man  need  have  no  fear  of  not  being  recognized.  The 
men  over  him,  in  turn,  know  that  they  will  be  judged  by 
their  ability  to  choose  the  right  man  for  promotion  and  the 
bigger  the  man  at  the  top,  the  more  eager  he  is  for  sugges- 
tions that  will  bring  improvements. 

To  show  the  scarcity  of  really  efficient  men, —  the  pres- 
ident of  a  manufacturing  concern  says  that  he  has  in  his 
files  six  requests  for  recommendations  of  men  who  are  to 
be  paid  salaries  of  from  $150  to  $250  a  month.  But  he 
adds  that  men  capable  to  fill  the  positions  are  not  to  be 
found.  Of  course  the  higher  one  mounts,  the  more  ability 
he  must  have  for  the  next  promotion,  and  you  have  already 
learned  how  the  manager  or  the  superintendent  must  be  a 
man  with  executive  ability  and  the  power  of  leadership. 
He  must  be  able  to  lay  out  plans  of  work  and  to  calculate 
how  much  can  be  done  in  a  certain  length  of  time,  and  must 
have  the  power  to  manage  men  and  see  that  they  do  the 
work  well.  He  should  be  a  man  who  can  decide  just  what 
he  wants  done  and  with  few  words  make  it  clearly  under- 
stood. He  must  know  the  business  thoroughly,  the  ma- 
terials used,  the  tools,  and  machinerv  and  the  men  who  do 
the  work.  The  salaries  for  executives  are  usually  high, 
though  they  cover  a  wide  range.  Those  at  the  top  have 
an  opportunity  to  make  almost  an  unlimited  amount  of 
money. 

Under  the  present  conditions  there  is  not  much  chance 
for  a  man  to  own  a  small  shop  of  his  own  ;  for  it  not  only 


Courtesy  National  Cash  Register  Company 
Men  at  work  in  the  tool  making  department 


Courtesy  National  Cash  Register  Company 
Men  at  work  in  the  polishing  room.     Suction  fans  carry  off  particles 

of  dust  and  brass. 


Courtesy  National  Cash  Register  Company 
Boy  at  work  on  drill  press 


Courtesy  National  Cash   Register  Company 
This  picture  shows  guards  for   protecting  women's  hair.     One  of  the 
many  inventions  that  make  factory  work  safer. 


MANUFACTURING    AND    THE    BUILDING    TRADES        103 

takes  a  great  deal  of  capital  to  start  a  business,  but  there  is 
a  growing  tendency  for  all  manufacturing  to  be  done  by  the 
big  concerns.  And  so  the  road  to  success  lies  in  working 
up  in  a  big  plant. 

As  an  example  of  one  man  who  worked  up  in  the  manu- 
facturing business,  Mr.  Schwab,  of  the  Bethlehem  Steel 
Works,  tells  the  following  story.  Mr.  Grace,  Mr.  Schwab 
says,  began  by  switching  engines  in  the  yards,  then  he 
operated  an  electric  crane,  and  then  was  transferred  to  the 
open  hearth  department  where  he  made  fifteen  dollars  a 
week.  After  that  he  was  yard  foreman,  yard  superintend- 
ent, assistant  superintendent  to  the  general  manager,  then 
general  superintendent  and  later  general  manager.  This 
all  took  place  within  eight  years.  Not  every  one  can  do 
this  just  as  not  every  boy  can  be  President  of  the  United 
States,  but  it  helps  to  show  the  possibility  of  getting  to  the 
place  for  which  you  are  fitted. 

Many  factories  today  increase  the  income  of  their  em- 
ployees by  means  of  the  profit-sharing  system,  and  a  still 
later  scheme  is  that  of  giving  bonuses.  For  instance  a 
skilled  workman  is  paid  so  much  for  so  many  hours  in 
which  time  a  certain  amount  of  work  is  supposed  to  be 
accomplished.  Beyond  this,  he  is  paid  proportionately  for 
whatever  he  does  over  that  amount.  In  departments  where 
the  quality  of  the  work  is  more  important  than  its  quantity, 
bonuses  are  paid  on  that  basis.  In  other  departments 
bonuses  are  given  to  the  men  who  can  handle  their  ma- 
chines with  the  greatest  efficiency.  Every  one  from  man- 
ager and  superintendent  down  has  a  chance  to  increase  his 
income  in  this  way.  Many  of  the  skilled  workmen  double 
their  wages. 

Aside  from  making  a  living  or,  perchance,  a  fortune, 
what  satisfaction  does  this  division  of  work  bring?  First, 
there  is  the  fascination  that  comes  from  using  one's  brains. 


104  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

Carnegie  speaks  of  the  difference  between  building  up  a  big 
business  and  speculating.  The  latter  depends  largely  upon 
chance,  while  the  former  depends  upon  brains,  upon  the 
ability  to  use  every  opportunity  to  the  best  advantage. 
Progress  depends  upon  knowledge,  inventiveness,  and  judg- 
ment. In  this  every  workman  may  contribute  his  part. 
And  in  this  connection  we  might  also  mention  the  new  pro- 
fession, that  of  scientific  manager.  There  are  men  who 
give  their  time  entirely  to  this  work.  They  are  employed 
by  factories  to  study  their  plan  of  work,  the  object  being  to 
save  every  possible  penny  and  every  possible  minute.  The 
workmen  must  not  make  one  unnecessary  movement ;  every 
bit  of  material  must  be  utilized,  and  in  all  departments, 
brains  must  take  the  place  of  brawn.  There  is  wonder- 
ful fascination  in  the  possibilities  of  devising  new  plans 
of  work  in  the  industries. 

Dwight  T.  Farnham,  whom  we  have  quoted  before,  says 
that  manufacturing  is  not  work  with  the  genteel  hours  nor 
respectable  environment  of  the  banks,  but  that  it  is  work 
that  requires  moral  courage  to  do  battle  vigorously.  He 
adds,  "  It  is  the  most  fascinating  profession  in  the  world, 
that  of  causing  things  to  grow,  with  our  own  head  and  our 
own  hand." 

As  in  the  case  of  the  other  occupations,  we  must  look  the 
disadvantages  squarely  in  the  face  before  coming  to  a  de- 
cision. There  is  no  doubt  that  manufacturing  is  a  dan- 
gerous occupation  ;  many  large  plants  have  their  emergency 
hospitals,  many  have  their  own  surgeons,  and  the  fact  that 
these  are  kept  busy,  shows  that  the  workman  runs  some 
risk.  Indeed  reports  show  that  great  numbers  are  injured 
or  killed  every  year.  Some  young  men  have  started  in 
this  business  and  have  changed  for  this  very  reason.  Then 
besides  the  risk  of  accidents,  there  is  the  possibility  of 
weakening  of  one's  health  by  breathing  air  that  is  not  al- 


MANUFACTURING    AND    THE    BUILDING    TRADES        105 

ways  the  best ;  and  in  certain  kinds  of  factories,  a  more  di- 
rect injury  to  health  comes  from  the  fine  particles  of  steel 
in  file-cutting,  or  in  steel  grinding,  and  from  poison  in  the 
manufacture  of  white  lead.  Other  special  industries  bring 
their  own  particular  risks ;  and  so  it  would  be  wise  for 
us  to  see  whether  there  is  anything  to  offset  this  disad- 
vantage. 

First,  the  conditions  of  factory  life  have  changed  much 
in  recent  years.  The  majority  of  modern  plants  are  im- 
proving the  conditions  of  heat,  light,  and  ventilation,  so 
that  the  workman  is  in  a  much  more  hygienic  atmosphere. 
Devices  have  been  invented  for  his  protection  so  that  fac- 
tory life  is  not  so  dangerous  as  it  once  was.  For  ex- 
ample, there  has  been  invented  for  presses  a  lattice-work 
gate  which  lets  down  while  the  machine  is  operating,  but 
which  the  operator  can  see  through  so  that  it  does  not  in- 
terfere with  his  work.  Treadles  and  steps  are  made  with 
rough  surfaces  to  prevent  slipping,  which  is  the  cause  of 
many  casualties ;  and  in  numerous  other  ways  efforts  are 
being  made  to  lessen  the  number  of  accidents. 

Then,  the  workman,  himself,  may  help  much  in  this  di- 
rection. A  large  number  of  the  accidents  are  said  to  be 
due  to  carelessness.  In  one  factory  where  the  workmen's 
hands  are  frequently  injured  by  their  machines,  the  acci- 
dent is  said  to  be  largely  due  to  trying  to  adjust  something 
while  the  machine  is  in  motion.  This  the  employees  are 
strictly  warned  not  to  do,  but  human  nature  soon  gets  used 
to  danger  and  becomes  careless.  The  workman  is  also  per- 
sonally responsible  in  that  he  should  be  sure  that  he  is 
physically  fit  before  he  undertakes  factory  work.  In  Ger- 
many boys  have  been  carefully  examined  after  completing 
their  training,  and  if  found  to  have  weak  lungs,  they  have 
not  been  allowed  to  undertake  any  work  that  would  keep 
them  indoors.     In  our  more  democratic  country,  boys  and 


106  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

girls  should  take  that  responsibility  upon  themselves. 
Again  much  work,  such  as  that  at  the  blast  furnace,  lifting 
heavy  material,  etc.,  is  a  tremendous  physical  strain,  and 
it  is  only  an  unusually  strong  man  who  can  stand  it  for 
more  than  a  short  time.  So  if  you  choose  to  go  into  this 
work,  you  must  first  be  sure  that  you  are  "  fit "  and 
then  take  every  precaution  to  keep  yourself  in  good  con- 
dition. 

Another  disadvantage  is  the  sensitiveness  of  many  trades 
to  business  depression.  This  is  something  that  cannot 
usually  be  foreseen  or  at  any  rate  avoided,  and  is  the  re- 
spect in  which  government  service  has  the  advantage  over 
the  industries.  At  such  times  often  the  hours  and  there- 
fore the  wages  are  cut  down,  or  again  many  workmen  may 
be  turned  out.  In  at  least  one  large  concern,  the  records 
of  all  the  employees  are  carefully  kept,  and  when  such  a 
time  comes  the  dismissals  begin  with  the  incompetent. 
But  this  is  not  the  case  in  all  factories,  and  so  every  work- 
man must  at  least  consider  this  disadvantage. 

Fortunately  the  objections  of  long  hours  and  small  pay 
that  have  been  very  real  in  the  industries,  are  being  gradu- 
ally overcome  by  agreements  between  the  unions  and  the 
corporations  and  by  legislation  in  many  states. 

Chances  for  Women 

Among  the  employees  in  factories  in  the  United  States 
there  are  1,820,980  women.  It  would  look  as  if  this 
were  a  large  opening  for  the  girls,  but  we  must  first  con- 
sider the  sort  of  work  in  which  they  find  their  place.  First 
many  of  these  are  girls  and  women  working  for  rather  low 
wages.  They  do  a  great  deal  of  simple  machine  work 
and  much  hand  work.  One  investigator  tells  us  that  while 
men  are  usually  given  the  work  that  requires  the  most 
physical  strength  women  are  given  that  which  requires  the 


MANUFACTURING    AND    THE    BUILDING    TRADES        107 

most  dexterity.  The  clothing  factories  are  a  favorite  place 
for  women  workers,  and  here  the  girl  who  has  skill  in  de- 
signing has  a  good  opportunity.  In  the  making  of  pianos, 
gloves,  shoes,  corsets,  boxes,  envelopes,  and  candy,  there 
are  numerous  places  for  girls.  But  what  is  the  prospect 
for  the  future  for  one  going  into  factory  work  ?  If  she  is 
quick  with  her  hands,  she  may  make  fairly  good  wages 
under  the  piecework  system  which  is  used  in  many  places. 
If  she  is  intelligent  and  trained,  she  may  work  up  to  the 
position  of  forewoman,  where  she  will  receive  good  pay, 
in  the  best  places  amounting  to  $20  or  $25  a  week. 
Women  who  have  the  ability  to  handle  girls  find  desir- 
able and  attractive  positions  of  this  sort.  Factory  work 
varies  greatly  according  to  the  factory,  but  in  general  the 
pay  is  not  enough  to  warrant  a  girl's  leaving  her  home 
town  or  city  for  the  sake  of  earning  her  living  in  this  way. 
If  she  is  interested  in  the  factories  near  at  hand  she  would 
better  inquire  into  the  opportunities  of  learning  the  trade 
and  advancing  in  that  particular  line,  and  unless  she  sees 
a  chance  of  becoming  a  forewoman  in  time,  or  of  gaining  a 
highly  skilled  position  that  brings  good  wages,  she  would 
better  seek  her  work  in  some  other  occupation,  for  the 
majority  of  girls  and  women  doing  the  actual  factory  work 
are  uneducated  and  have  not  the  opportunity  for  promo- 
tion that  boys  and  men  in  that  industry  have. 


PRINTING 

In  1909,  there  were  35,000  printing  establishments  in 
this  country  with  400,000  people  employed.  Printing 
includes  no  less  than  fifty  different  trades,  so  you  can  see 
that  it  is  a  very  large  business.  It  assists  all  the  trades 
in  the  matter  of  advertising;  the  journalist  and  writer 
would  make  little  progress  without  the  printer;  while  all 


108  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

the  professions  need  bis  help  in  making  permanent  the 
results  of  their  work. 

Qualifications 

This  being  a  phase  of  manufacturing,  the  requirements 
are  very  much  the  same  and  need  not  be  repeated. 

Preparation 

Printers  must  have  thorough  training  in  punctuation 
and  in  writing  clear  and  satisfactory  English.  All  high 
schools  offer  this  training,  and,  besides,  many  now  have 
special  courses  in  printing.  A  course  in  drawing  will  be  of 
value  in  the  matter  of  lettering,  designing  and  color-har- 
mony. Since  the  printer's  task  is  concerned  with  ma- 
chinery, he  should  have  not  only  direct  training  in  ma- 
chine shop  work,  but  also  some  knowledge  of  the  sciences 
of  physics  and  chemistry.  A  boy  who  is  interested  in 
printing  may  plan  a  high  school  course  that  will  be  an  ex- 
cellent foundation  for  this  occupation. 

In  this  industry,  particularly  in  the  compositors'  de- 
partment, more  apprentices  are  taken  than  in  any  other 
trade.  After  three  years,  these  boys  take  a  two  years' 
course  in  the  trade  union  night  school.  They  are  then 
ready  to  make  $15.00  a  week  wages. 

Opportunities 

Printing  has  the  advantage  of  being  the  least  seasonal 
of  all  the  trades,  so  that  a  workman  is  not  likely  to  lose 
much  time.  There  is  some  chance  for  women,  especially 
in  the  bindery  department.  They  receive,  however, 
smaller  wages  than  men  do  for  the  same  work.  The  high- 
est wages  are  received  in  the  pressroom.  Here  the  ma- 
chine men  earn  more  than  in  other  trades.  Of  these  the 
web  pressman  has  the  most  complicated  machine.     The 


Courtesy  Sears,  Roebuck  and  Company 
Men  who  work  on  the  monotype  and  linotype  machines 


Courtesy  Sears,  Roebuck  and  Company 


—    --.-...    v   ,.1,        m  I     ■  -    •    u  t        jure   f-r   tA-K  /V        '  I    I  <  M         \sfjlttjfllll 

Here  men  are  making  plates  from  the  type  forms  that  come  from  the 


composing  room 


Courtesy  Sears,  Roebuck  and  Company 
Men  working  on  the  color  presses,  in  the  printing  department 


Courtesy  National  Cash  Register  Company 
Making  metal  register  cabinets  in  the  brass  foundry 


MANUFACTURING    AND    THE    BUILDING    TRADES        109 

foreman,  while  he  oversees  other  machines,  has  one  of 
his  own  to  run.  He  receives  over  $6.00  a  day,  while  a 
web  pressman  gets  over  $4.00,  and  his  assistant,  about 
$3.00.  These  men  have  machines  made  up  of  50,000 
parts,  and  are  responsible  not  only  for  the  work  put  out  but 
for  keeping  the  machines  in  perfect  repair.  Besides  this 
there  are  the  cylinder  press,  the  platen  press,  and  others, 
for  all  of  which  there  must  be  pressmen,  who  get  from  three 
to  four  dollars  a  day;  floormen  serve  for  four  years  be- 
fore they  are  made  pressmen  and  are  paid  a  little  less  than 
three  dollars  a  day.  Pressfeeders,  cutters,  and  flyboys  do 
whatever  they  are  called  on  to  do  and  get  about  $1.50  a 
day.  The  foremen  in  these  departments  get  about  $4.75 
a  day. 

If  yon  should  visit  the  compositors'  department,  you 
would  see  many  interesting  processes,  and  would  probably 
understand  why  such  a  long  apprenticeship  is  required. 
You  would  not  see  much  of  the  old-fashioned  typesetting 
but  instead,  linotype  men  and  stereotype  men,  engaged  in 
easting,  in  one  sheet  of  metal,  forms  that  will  print  a 
page  at  a  time.  Then  you  would  see  proof-readers,  many 
of  whom  are  women.  These  receive  from  4  to  5  dollars  a 
day,  and  it  is  here  that  education  is  of  advantage. 

THE  BUILDING  TRADES 

Closely  allied  with  the  manufacturer  who  is  busied  in 
making  things  is  the  builder  with  whom  the  "  things 
made  "  reach  rather  larger  measurements.  Many  a  small 
boy  and  not  a  few  of  larger  growth  feel  a  strong  instinct 
towards  building  of  some  sort.  But  the  building  trades 
include  a  number  of  occupations,  though  in  general  they 
are  helping  towards  the  completion  of  the  finished  product, 
a  dwelling  house,  an  apartment  building,  an  office  building, 


110  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

the  largest  public  edifice  or  the  smallest  shed.  Doubtless 
many  boys  who  are  interested  in  this  occupation  have 
their  eyes  on  the  business  of  the  contractor.  So  let  us 
first  consider  what  his  work  is  like,  and  who  are  the  men 
working  under  him;  for  it  is  probable  that  he  himself  be- 
gan as  a  subordinate  workman.  By  some  people  the  ar- 
chitect is  considered  even  more  important  than  the  con- 
tractor, and  it  is  true  that  it  is  his  name  that  is  mentioned 
most  frequently  in  connection  with  especially  beautiful 
or  unusual  buildings.  His  work,  however,  belongs  more 
properly  with  that  of  the  professions,  and  we  shall,  there- 
fore, not  consider  it  at  this  time.  The  architect's  plans 
are  generally  submitted  to  several  contractors,  who  make 
bids  for  the  work,  and  the  one  that  is  accepted  then 
has  charge  of  the  entire  construction.  He  may  hire  all  the 
workmen  himself,  or  he  may  in  turn  let  out  contracts  for 
various  parts  of  the  work. 

Now,  when  a  contractor  takes  upon  himself  the  respon- 
sibility of  putting  up  a  building,  who  are  the  workmen 
that  he  must  have  in  his  crew  of  helpers  ?  Of  course,  as 
in  other  occupations,  there  are  the  unskilled  laborers,  next 
come  the  tradesmen  or  skilled  mechanics,  such  as  carpen- 
ters, bricklayers,  plasterers,  painters,  plumbers,  and  elec- 
tricians. There  are  almost  a  score  of  special  groups  that 
may  be  engaged  in  the  building  of  a  house.  The  con- 
tractor must  know  enough  about  all  these  trades  so  as  to 
pick  the  very  best  workmen  possible ;  because  he  is  re- 
sponsible for  results  in  every  one  of  these  lines.  Usually 
he  himself  has  started  out  in  one  of  these  capacities,  in 
most  cases  in  that  of  the  carpenter,  who  until  the  recent 
wide  use  of  materials  other  than  wood  has  been  the  most 
important  man  in  the  putting  up  of  a  building. 

The  contractor  may,  however,  reach  his  goal  along  a  dif- 
ferent route.     For  instance,  one  young  fellow  who  had  been 


MANUFACTURING    AND    THE     BUILDING    TRADES        HI 

trained  as  a  civil  engineer  obtained  a  position  with  a 
railroad  to  oversee  the  erection  of  some  of  their  build- 
ings. That  is,  while  a  contractor  had  charge  of  the  work, 
he  was  hired  as  a  sort  of  inspector  to  see  that  all  work  in 
iron,  rivets,  etc., was  perfectly  secure  and  well  done.  In 
this  work  he  had  the  opportunity  to  make  himself  ac- 
quainted with  almost  every  phase  of  the  art  of  building. 
He  was  wide  awake,  alert  and  energetic,  and  after  two  or 
three  years  started  into  business  on  his  own  responsibility 
as  a  contractor.  The  pride  and  joy  that  a  young  man  has 
in  actually  causing  the  growth  of  a  good  looking  house,  in 
seeing  that  every  part  of  it  is  well  done,  and  in  using  all 
sorts  of  new  and  improved  methods,  more  than  repaid 
this  youth  for  not  making  a  large  income  in  the  first  years 
of  his  undertaking. 

Qualifications 

The  requirements  necessary  for  success  in  any  one  of 
the  building  trades  are  a  good  deal  the  same  as  those  in 
the  business  of  manufacturing.  In  almost  all  of  the 
trades  that  go  towards  the  building  of  a  house  the  workman 
should  be  quick  and  skillful  in  the  use  of  his  hands.  If 
you  should  watch  a  bricklayer  for  an  hour  or  so,  you  could 
not  help  admiring  the  skill  and  dispatch  with  which  he 
does  his  work.  On  the  other  hand,  if  you  will  notice  the 
poor  work  that  is  often  done  in  the  brick  work  around 
fire  places,  outside  steps,  or  chimneys,  you  will  see  the  pos- 
sibilities of  lack  of  skill  and  the  opportunity  for  an  exact 
careful  workman  to  make  himself  felt.  Again  you  will 
often  hear  of  new  buildings  that,  while  they  have  all  the 
desired  attractiveness  in  appearance,  are  poorly  constructed 
and  cannot  last.  This  may  be  due  to  poor  material  but  it 
may  also  be  due  to  poor  workmanship,  and  is  another  illus- 
tration of  the  need  of  ability. 


11*5  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

The  painter  is  another  workman  whose  task,  especially 
in  the  inside  of  the  house,  demands  skill.  Indeed  in  his 
case,  to  manual  dexterity  must  be  added  an  artistic  sense. 
The  same  man  who  is  employed  as  house  painter  or  deco- 
rator may  also  be  called  upon  when  the  building  sea- 
son is  slack  for  a  rather  different  sort  of  work,  such  as 
sign  painting,  that  demands  a  true  eye  and  well-directed 
hand. 

Again,  you  have  often  seen  the  highly  skilled  work  of 
the  carpenter,  of  the  man  who  takes  pride  in  finishing  his 
work  at  every  turn  in  a  truly  artistic  way.  And  we  can 
contrast  all  of  these  well  done  performances  with  the  care- 
less work  that  we  see  in  many  cheap  buildings.  All  of 
which  furnishes  a  bit  of  inspiration  as  it  shows  the  man 
who  is  interested  in  any  phase  of  building  that  he  may  do 
his  work  "  with  a  difference." 

2.  In  accordance  with  the  advice  we  have  been  getting 
in  many  lines  in  this  country  lately,  it  is  well  for  the 
builder,  also,  to  have  the  quality  of  thrift.  The  final  loss 
from  wastefulness  will  come  upon  the  contractor,  since, 
when  he  makes  a  bid  for  a  building,  he  agrees  to  put  it  up 
for  a  certain  sum.  Material  and  wages  are  both  so  high 
nowadays  that  he  must  needs  select  workmen  who  do  not 
have  the  great  American  fault  or  their  extravagance  may 
greatly  increase  the  price  of  production. 

3.  If  one  would  get  beyond  certain  mechanical  work, 
inventiveness  is  necessary  in  building  just  as  it  is  in  man- 
ufacturing. This  is  the  age  for  improvements  and  the 
contractor  especially  must  be  on  the  lookout  for  new  meth- 
ods and  equipments.  Take  for  example  the  convenience 
devices  of  modern  apartment  buildings:  the  new  doors  by 
which  groceries  and  meat  may  be  slipped  into  compart- 
ments locked  from  the  outside;  the  in-a-door  beds;  wall 
safes ;  garbage  chutes.     The  men  who  are  actually  doing 


MANUFACTURING    AND    THE    BUILDING    TRADES        113 

the  work  have  the  opportunity  to  see  the  possibility  of  such 
things. 

4.  Every  mechanic  must  have  the  quality  of  accuracy. 
We  all  know  that  work  trued  and  squared  according  to  ex- 
act measurements  is  absolutely  necessary.  Some  people 
think  that  the  expert  builder  is  certain  to  be  an  honest 
man  because  he  learns  that  varying  from  the  true  mark  is 
bound  to  bring  bad  results,  but  whether  this  is  true  or  not 
it  shows  that  accuracy  of  eye  and  hand  is  essential  to  his 
business. 

5.  Adaptability  or  the  ability  to  interpret  in  the  struc- 
ture the  wishes  of  the  designer  is  an  asset  to  the  contrac- 
tor. Indeed,  in  regard  to  most  of  the  workmen  on  a  build- 
ing it  may  be  said  that  once  having  learned  how  to  per- 
form a  certain  process  is  by  no  means  enough.  In  the 
case  of  private  dwellings,  club  houses,  churches,  and  many 
buildings  other  than  purely  business  blocks,  the  planner  is 
often  an  amateur  and  the  contractor  and  his  men  must  ad- 
just their  work  to  the  ideas  of  the  owner.  In  some  towns, 
for  instance,  there  is  almost  unlimited  variety  and  indi- 
viduality in  the  houses,  and  it  is  not  at  all  certain  that  the 
man  who  has  worked  on  one  will  be  able  to  do  the  same 
class  of  work  on  another  without  added  instruction. 

6.  While  the  contractor  should  understand  the  varioiis 
parts  of  construction,  even  the  knowing  of  all  the  details 
would  not  be  sufficient  to  insure  his  success.  For  he  is 
the  head  of  the  business  and  must  first  of  all  be  a  good 
business  manager.  He  has  in  fact  great  need  to  be  a 
cost  accountant.  lie  must  do  an  immense  amount  of  fig- 
uring: before  he  makes  his  bid  for  the  construction  of  a 
building.  He  must  know  the  cost  of  materials,  the  price 
of  labor,  and  how  long  the  work  will  take,  before  he  can 
tell  for  how  much  he  can  afford  to  undertake  the  building 
and  at  the  same  time  make  a  fair  profit.     The  lowest  bid- 


114  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

der,  provided  that  he  has  the  reputation  for  good  work,  is 
very  likely  to  get  the  contract,  so  the  contractor  tries  to 
make  his  estimate  as  low  as  possible,  and  in  this  way,  there 
is  danger  that  he  may  underestimate  the  cost  and  that 
instead  of  making  a  profit  he  may  actually  lose  on  the 
undertaking. 

Preparation 

Usually  an  opportunity  is  given  the  beginner  to  secure 
an  apprenticeship  in  the  various  lines.  If  before  start- 
ing he  has  learned  to  use  a  number  of  tools,  this  will 
help  to  shorten  his  period  of  training.  As  in  the  case  of 
factories,  one  can  learn  more  processes  by  beginning  in  a 
small  place  or  on  a  small  job.  The  larger  the  building 
the  more  specialized  becomes  the  work,  and  the  beginner 
will  have  to  be  alert  indeed  to  get  beyond  the  simplest 
labor.  At  the  same  time  his  training  will  be  better  if 
he  begins  with  a  well-reputed  firm ;  for  there  will  be  used 
the  most  improved  methods  and  tools.  The  young  man 
who  wants  to  go  beyond  the  work  of  an  actual  mechanic 
should  know  some  elementary  mathematics.  Higher 
mathematics  and  elementary  surveying  would  also  be  help- 
ful. The  carpenter  should  learn  how  to  use  as  many  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  tools  as  possible  and  should  know  how  to 
read  blueprints.  In  these  days  of  careful  sanitation  a 
certain  amount  of  science  is  almost  necessary  for  the 
plumber.  Again  in  any  of  the  building  trades,  it  would  be 
well  to  learn  as  much  as  possible  as  to  industrial  conditions 
before  starting;  for  these  change  so  with  business  de- 
pression or  prosperity,  that  a  knowledge  of  their  present 
condition  at  any  time  is  quite  important.  If  a  boy  is  not 
attracted  by  the  system  of  learning  his  trade  through  ap- 
prenticeship, he  may  enter  one  of  the  schools  run  by  the 
various  trade  unions,  or  one  of  the  public  technical  high 


MANUFACTURING    AND    THE    BUILDING    TRADES        115 

schools  or  technical  night  schools.  The  ambitious  youth 
will  if  possible  take  advantage  of  some  one  of  these  op- 
portunities. 

Now  with  these  suggestions  as  to  training,  what  should 
the  boy  who  wants  to  become  a  builder  do  ?  First  while  he 
is  in  school  he  should  take  the  work  suggested  according  to 
the  special  line  that  he  wants  to  enter.  Then  if  he  can 
afford  it  he  should  take  further  training  in  some  technical 
school;  but  if  that  is  not  possible  he  should  start  as  ap- 
prentice in  the  line  in  which  he  is  the  most  interested. 
If  he  aims  to  be  a  contractor  he  should  by  all  means  take 
a  course  in  cost  accounting. 

Opportunities  and  Advantages 

During  the  working  season  the  pay  for  the  building 
tradesman  is  good,  and  his  hours  are  short.  The  unions 
demand  for  him  an  eight-hour  day.  If  he  is  capable,  well 
trained,  and  knows  how  to  handle  men,  he  has  good  oppor- 
tunity for  advancement  to  foreman,  and,  particularly  if 
his  training  includes  a  technical  course,  to  superintendent. 
Again,  with  business  ability  he  may  often  be  successful  as 
a  small  contractor. 

Then  the  building  trades  with  the  possible  exception  of 
plumbing  and  painting  offer  healthful  employment.  The 
work  is  out  of  doors  and  active,  with  regular  hours  for 
meals,  and  is  conducive  to  the  building  up  of  strength. 
Even  in  the  case  of  the  two  lines  of  work  that  have  been 
supposed  to  be  unhealthful,  precautions  have  been  taken 
so  that  they  are  not  the  menace  that  they  once  were.  Re- 
pair work  on  unsanitary  plumbing  and  lead  poisoning  from 
paints  were  the  principal  causes  of  disease ;  but  a  little  sci- 
entific training  teaches  plumbers  to  be  more  careful  and 
precautions  are  taken  in  the  making  of  paints. 

Another  condition  that  might  help  the  technically  trained 


116  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

boy  to  successful  work  is  that  there  are  few  boys  iu  the 
building  trades  who  have  been  beyond  the  grades  in  school. 
This  has  been  found  to  be  absolutely  true  in  a  survey  made 
of  these  trades  in  Cleveland  and  it  seems  to  be  generally 
true  in  other  places.  That  being  the  case  a  boy  who  is 
interested  in  this  work,  has  the  required  qualities,  and 
besides  this  a  high  school  training,  with  the  mathematics, 
science,  and  business  methods  that  would  be  helpful,  would 
have  a  good  chance  to  make  efficient  work  count.  A  col- 
lege boy  who  has  tried  it  says  that  there  is  nothing  so  fasci- 
nating as  watching  a  building  grow  and  feeling  that  you 
are  really  responsible  for  the  results.  Two  high  school 
boys  who  undertook  electrical  contracting,  and  in  connec- 
tion with  it  started  an  electrical  supply  and  work-shop 
of  their  own,  have  had  all  the  work  that  they  could  pos- 
sibly do.  Another  high  school  boy,  who  had  unusual  ar- 
tistic skill,  started  in  a  photographer's  shop  but  in  a  year 
or  two  decided  that  the  painter's  trade  would  be  better  for 
him  financially  and  physically,  and  now  after  several 
years  has  opened  his  own  shop  and  is  successful. 

So  much  for  individual  satisfaction.  There  is  also  the 
feeling  that  good,  conscientious,  substantial  building  helps 
to  make  one  of  the  assets  of  a  nation.  In  matters  of  com- 
fort, convenience,  and  art  the  builder  has  a  chance  to  help 
in  the  present  and  even  to  build  for  the  future. 

Disadvantages 

The  work  of  the  builder  depends  upon  the  prosperity  of 
the  country  and  is  affected  by  business  depression  almost 
before  any  other.  Not  only  that,  but  a  good  deal  of  it  is 
seasonal  work,  and  except  in  warm  climates  not  much  can 
be  done  in  the  winter  months.  At  these  slack  times 
workmen  are  necessarily  turned  off  and,  of  course,  the 
pay  stops.     One  thing,  however,  may  be  said,  the  foremen 


MANUFACTURING    AND    THE    BUILDING    TRADES        117 

and  the  more  highly  skilled  workmen  are  tbe  last  ones  to 
go,  and  therefore  there  is  decided  advantage  in  working  up 
in  the  trade. 

Again,  there  is  some  danger  in  the  work  of  building, 
principally  from  falling  off  of  scaffolding  and  high  places, 
or  from  being  injured  by  the  falling  of  heavy  material. 
However,  the  accidents  are  not  so  many  as  in  railroading 
and  with  sufficient  care  most  of  them  can  be  avoided. 

This  is  one  of  the  lines  of  work  in  which  there  is  prac- 
tically no  opportunity  for  women.  On  the  architectural 
side  women  have  done  a  good  deal  and  are  doing  still  more, 
but  we  shall  discuss  that  later. 

EXERCISES 

1.  How  many  of  the  professional  persons  in  your  community,  do 
you  suppose,  have  readied  their  present  goal  heeause  of  an  aim  which 
they  had  at  the  beginning  of  their  careers?  In  the  building  trades 
would  a  similar  answer  apply?     If  not,  why? 

2.  What  is  the  importance  of  manipulative  skill  in  manufactur- 
ing? 

3.  What  is  the  value  of  technical  training  in  either  manufactur- 
ing or  the  building  trades? 

4.  Study  some  industry  of  your  community,  to  determine  if  pos- 
sible what  the  particular  qualifications  of  workers  must  be  to  enable 
them  to  succeed  in  it. 

5.  What  effect  does  the  paying  of  bonuses  have  upon  the  point  of 
view  of  the  employee  toward  his  work? 

G.  If  you  know  nothing  about  tools,  machines,  or  manufacturing 
processes  what  would  be  the  advantage  to  you  of  going  into  a  shop, 
for,  say,  a  summer  vacation? 

7.  Pick  a  trade  or  hand  occupation  and  show  the  possibilities  of 
advancement  through  reading  and  study. 

8.  If  a  young  man,  who  is  learning  a  trade,  expects  to  be  em- 
ployed in  small  shops  or  factories  what  would  be  the  advantage  in 
changing  factories  from  time  to  time  during  the  course  of  his  appren- 
ticeship? 

9.  Why  would  this  not  be  necessary  in  a  large  factory  where  an 
apprentice  system  was  supported? 


118  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

10.  Which  of  the  two  (8  and  U)  would  make  the  journeyman  more 
independent  as  a  worker? 

11.  A  careful  study  of  the  tradesmen,  merchants,  and  men  of  the 
professions  from  your  city  or  community  will  reveal  the  fact  that 
the  leaders  in  civic  problems  will  also  be  leaders  in  their  respective 
occupations.     Can  you  explain  this? 

12.  In  your  own  community  what  manufacturing  concerns  have  an 
apprentice  system?  What  opportunities  are  open  to  boys  taking  an 
apprentice  course  over  those  who  do  not  take  one? 

13.  What  are  the  advantages  of  a  skilled  worker  over  an  unskilled 
one  other  than  the  difference  in  wages? 

14.  Summarize  under  the  headings,  advantages  and  disadvantages, 
what  seem  to  you  to  be  the  essential  points  to  consider  in  choosing  a 
vocation  from  the  building  trades  and  also  from  manufacturing. 

15.  Select  from  this  list  some  occupation  in  which  you  are  espe- 
cially interested,  or  with  which  you  are  familiar,  and  determine 
answers  to  the  following  points.  It  will  be  best  to  select  an  occupa- 
tion from  which  local  first  hand  information  can  be  obtained. 

a.  Importance  of  occupation    (trade)  ? 

b.  What  are  the  conditions  of  employment? 

1.  Is  physical  and  nervous  strain  involved? 

2.  Does  work  tend  toward  stimulating  intelligence  of  worker 
or  the  reverse? 

3    What  are  the  sanitary  conditions? 

4.  Is  there,  danger  of  accident  or  occupational  disease? 

c.  What  are  the  wages? 

1.  During  apprenticeship. 

2.  To  journeymen. 

3.  What  is  the  union  scale? 

d.  What  are  the  hours  of  labor? 

e.  Is  the  work  seasonal? 

f.  If  the  occupation  is  a  trade,  is  it  organized? 

g.  What  is  the  entrance  age  to  the  trade? 

h.  Length  of  time  required  to  learn  the  trade? 

i.  Is  the  supply  of  labor  equal  to  the  demand? 

j.  Is  the  demand  of  labor  increasing  or  decreasing? 

k.  What  is  the  source  of  the  supply  of  labor?  i.e.,  through  appren- 
ticeship, or  from  a  technical  school. 

1.  If  more  than  grammar  school  education  is  necessary  to  reach 
the  best  positions  what  is  the  nature  of  the  special  education 
needed? 


MANUFACTURING    AND    THE    BUILDING    TRADES        119 

m.  If  specific  education  is  needed,  and  one  enters  the  industry  re- 
gardless of  this  fact,  what  are  the  chances  of  success? 
n,  What  is  the  age  of  maximum  productivity? 
o.  What  subjects  in  your  high  school  offer  the  greatest  value  as 
training  for  the  trade  that  you  are  studying? 

16.  By  inquiry  of  tradesmen  and  contractors,  discover  the  quali- 
fications and  specific  preparation  that  a  man  should  possess  who 
would  become  a  contractor  by  way  of  working  up  through  some  one 
or  more  of  the  related  trades.  Each  member  of  the  class  should  sup- 
ply at  least  one  fact  toward  an  answer  to  this  problem. 

17.  Of  what  value  will  a  working  knowledge  of  design  be  to  a 
buildinjr  trades  man?  Will  a  similar  answer  be  made  for  the  ma- 
chine  trades  or  manufacturing? 

18.  Look  up  the  plans  that  Bryn  Mawr  College  has  made  for  the 
training  of  women  for  executive  positions  in  factories.  Why  is  this 
necessary  at  this  time? 

19.  Name  as  many  positions  in  the  manufacturing  business  as  you 
can  in  which  women  might  succeed. 

20.  Is  there  any  work  in  the  building  trades  tnat  women  might  do? 

21.  Is  there  any  work  in  factories  or  in  building  that  women  ought 
not  to  do?     Why  do  you  think  this? 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Bureau    of    Labor    Statistics.     United    States    Bulletin,    Wages    and 

Hours  of  Labor  Series. 
Addresses   printed  by   the  Educational    Committee   of  the   Winnipeg 

Industrial  Bureau. 
Taylor,   Frederick    W.     The   Principles   of   Scientific   Management. 

Harper  and  Brothers,  1911. 
Carlton,    Frank   Tracy.     The  Industrial   Situation.     The   Fleming 

Revel  1  Co. 
Kelly,  R.  M.     Hiring  the  Worker.     Ronald  Press  Co.,  1917. 
Irwin,    Will.     The    Floating   Laborer.     Articles    in    The   Saturday 

Evening  Post.     July  4,  1914.     May  9,  1914. 
Abbott,  Edith.     Women  in  Industry.     D.  Appleton  Co.,  1910. 
Allen,    Frederick    J.     The   Shoe   Industry.     The   Vocation    Bureau 

of  Boston,  1916. 
Windsor,  H.  H.     The  Boy  Mechanic.     Popular  Mechanics  Publishing 

Co. 
Hodgson,  Fred  T.     Modern  Carpentry.     Hodgson  Book  Co. 


120  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

Gilbreth,    Frank    B.     Primer   of   Scientific    Management.     D.   Van 

Nostrand  Co.,  1912. 
Carnegie,   Andrew.     The  Empire  of  Business.     Doubleday,  Page  & 

Co.,  1002 
Lutz,  R.  R.     The  Metal  Trades.     Cleveland  Foundation,  1916. 
Shaw,  Frank  L.     The  Building  Trades.     Cleveland  Foundation,  1916. 
Siiaw,  Frank  L.     The  Printing  Trades.     Cleveland  Foundation,  1016. 
Bbyner,  Edna.     The  Garment  Trades.     Cleveland  Foundation,  1916. 


CHAPTER  VI 
COMMERCIAL  OCCUPATIONS 

Now  we  come  to  the  last  of  what  we  have  called  the  great 
fundamental  groups;  the  following  chapters  will  deal  with 
those  that  are,  in  a  way,  helpers  either  to  these  great  occu- 
pations, or  to  the  people  engaged  in  them.  We  have  dis- 
cussed the  extraction  of  our  natural  resources,  the  sending 
of  them  to  the  manufacturer  to  be  made  into  more  usable 
form,  the  manufacturing  itself,  and  the  financing  of  these 
different  operations.  But  now  the  manufacturer  must 
dispose  of  these  goods.  They  will  be  transferred  from  him 
to  the  wholesaler  and  the  retailer  and  finally  will  reach 
the  consumer,  that  is,  the  great  mass  of  people  who  use 
these  innumerable  products.  The  great  world  of  com- 
merce is  busy  with  the  transferring  of  these  goods  from 
one  to  another.  This,  of  course,  does  not  refer  merely  to 
manufactured  articles :  sometimes  the  farm  products  go 
directly  to  the  dealer,  or  the  thing  traded  may  be  real  es- 
tate, life  insurance,  stocks  and  bonds,  or  indeed  anything 
that  one  person  or  group  of  persons  may  supply  to  another. 

Not  long  ago  the  sales  manager  of  a  large  business  con- 
cern said  to  a  group  of  students  that  commerce  was  the 
most  important  of  all  the  occupations.  This  superlative 
statement  may  have  come  because  it  referred  to  his  own 
chief  interest,  but  at  the  same  time  we  realize  its  element 
of  truth  when  we  consider  that  without  commerce  it  would 
be  impossible  for  manufacturing,  agriculture,  and  many 

121 


122  VOCATIONAL,    CIVICS 

other  businesses  to  thrive.  Indeed  we  shall  find  out  that 
the  successful  farmer  must  have  some  of  the  elements  of 
a  good  salesman,  that  the  manufacturer  must  have  his  reg- 
ularly organized  sales  department,  that  the  banker,  the 
hotel  keeper,  the  publisher,  the  photographer,  the  dress- 
maker, and,  indeed,  practically  all  business  people  must  be 
in  a  sense  salesmen.  We  shall  consider  first  those  busi- 
nesses that  are  concerned  primarily  in  the  work  of  selling. 
Here  we  ordinarily  think  of  the  wholesale  stores,  retail 
stores,  mailorder  houses,  chain  stores,  and  traveling  sales- 
men. We  ji re  told  that  there  is  about  twenty  billion  dol- 
lars' worth  of  retail  business  transacted  in  this  country 
every  year.  Of  this  amount  of  business,  only  three  per 
cent,  is  done  by  the  great  department  stores,  the  mail-order 
houses,  and  the  big  systems  of  chain  stores.  This  means 
that  97  per  cent,  of  the  twenty  billion  dollar  business  is 
handled  by  the  small  retail  stores.  We  are  sometimes  in- 
clined to  think  that  the  more  prominent  concerns  have 
almost  a  monopoly  of  the  selling  business;  but  with  these 
facts  in  mind,  it  would  seem  that  the  consideration  of  the 
small  retail  business  might  be  worth  while  for  many 
capable  people. 

We  shall  learn  that,  besides  salesmen,  the  specialized 
selling  business  has  many  employees  in  other  departments. 
We  shall  find,  for  instance,  the  accountant,  bookkeeper, 
stenographer,  private  secretary,  and  advertiser,  besides 
many  who  belong  distinctively  with  other  groups,  such  as, 
the  welfare  worker,  the  artist,  and  the  telephone  oper- 
ator. And  so  since  this  group  includes  workers  in  other 
groups,  and  since  others  must  draw  from  this,  we  see  again 
how  all  work  is  interrelated,  how  necessary  is  all  legitimate 
human  business,  and  how  each  individual  who  does  his 
work  well  is  helping  towards  the  progress  of  his  country 
and  of  the  world. 


commercial  occupations  123 

Qualifications 

Now  let  us  consider  the  qualities  that  are  desirable  in 
the  boy  or  girl  who  would  set  out  to  make  commerce  his 
vocation.  The  salesman,  no  matter  what  department  of 
commerce  he  enters,  the  wholesale  house,  the  department 
store,  the  small  retail  store,  the  army  of  commercial  trav- 
elers, the  railroad,  as  passenger  agent,  or  the  place  of  mid- 
dleman between  the  manufacturer  and  the  dealer,  would 
do  well  to  cultivate  certain  qualities,  which  we  shall  con- 
sider somewhat  carefully.  A  possible  exception  is  the 
man  who  sells  by  correspondence;  if  he  is  an  advertiser, 
he  needs  additional  abilities,  if  he  is  a  clerk  in  a  mail- 
order house,  he  deals  with  things  rather  than  with  people, 
and  his  characteristics  differ  from  those  of  the  salesman. 
What  then  are  these  qualities  that  make  a  successful  sales- 
man ? 

1.  One  must  be  a  ready  talker.  He  must  be  at  no  loss 
for  words  and  he  must  be  able  to  put  up  a  convincing  argu- 
ment, and  not  only  to  argue  but  to  persuade.  For  this  pur- 
pose he  must  know  how  to  use  forceful  English,  and  should 
have  the  backing  of  a  good  general  education.  One  man 
who  had  reached  a  place  of  importance  in  salesmanship, 
felt  the  need  of  this  ability,  and  so  took  a  "  furlough  "  with 
the  special  purpose  of  going  to  Harvard  University  to  make 
a  study  of  the  use  of  good  English.  A  specialist  who  is 
hired  by  several  large  concerns  to  test  the  ability  of  men 
as  salesmen  makes  a  point  of  the  sales  talk  which  the  can- 
didates must  make  individually  to  a  number  of  judges. 
This  quality  is  not  so  important  when  the  prospective  buyer 
knows  exactly  what  he  wants,  and  has  set  out  to  find  it. 
The  selling  in  this  case  is  a  comparatively  easy  matter. 
A  salesman  need  then  only  display  his  wares.  But 
its  value  comes  when  the  purchaser  is  aimless  and  in- 


124  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

different,  and  the  salesman  must  attract  and  hold  his  at- 
tention, and  influence  his  decision. 

2.  A  good  salesman  must  have  a  pleasant  personality. 
He  should  be  likable,  approachable,  even-tempered,  and 
accommodating.  That  is,  he  must  not  be  cranky  or 
grouchy,  otherwise  he  will  drive  away  trade  in  spite  of 
other  good  qualifications.  He  must  take  pains  to  please 
the  customer  and  not  consider  his  own  feelings.  An  in- 
cident is  told  of  a  young  clerk  in  a  department  store  on  a 
rainy  day  when  there  were  few  customers  and  when  the 
clerks  felt  more  like  chatting  together  than  like  taking 
the  pains  to  be  courteous  to  inconsiderate  intruders. 
A  bedraggled  woman  came  in  and  this  young  man  was 
the  only  one  to  leave  his  friends  and  give  pleasant  atten- 
tion to  her  every  want.  It  was  only  an  incident  in  good 
salesmanship  which  nine  times  out  of  ten  would  pass  un- 
noticed. In  this  case,  it  happened  that  the  customer  was 
a  wealthy  and  influential  woman  and  that  the  courtesy  of 
the  young  man  brought  him  a  position  of  great  importance 
and  reward. 

3.  He  must  be  observant  and  a  judge  of  human  nature. 
He  must  size  people  up  correctly  as  to  the  kind  of  goods 
they  would  probably  buy,  and  must  offer  those  suited  to 
their  pursue  and  tastes.  Customers  sometimes  leave  a  store 
feeling  disgusted  because  a  salesman  has  very  evidently 
made  too  low  an  estimate  of  their  income,  and  is  seemingly 
afraid  to  offer  more  expensive  goods,  or  has  urged  on  them 
articles  inconsistent  with  their  taste.  On  the  other  hand, 
some  are  forced  to  try  another  place  because  nothing  is  of- 
fered that  is  within  their  means.  A  salesman  should  learn 
what  kind  of  argument  will  appeal  to  each  person.  Some 
clerks  feel  that  it  is  not  worth  while  to  take  this  trouble, 
they  think  that  the  whims  of  many  customers  are  unreason- 
able and  they  are  too  independent  to  consider  them.     But 


COMMERCIAL    OCCUPATIONS  125 

as  a  matter  of  fact,  we  are  all  dependent  upon  one  another 
and  cannot  get  through  this  world  without  catering  to  the 
wishes  of  others.  Here  is  an  example  of  a  salesman  who 
understood  human  nature.  A  man  went  into  a  store  to 
buy  a  Victrola  for  his  wife.  He  intended  to  buy  one  at  a 
certain  price  because  he  had  been  told  by  a  friend  that  that 
kind  was  very  satisfactory.  The  salesman  said:  "I 
know  what  an  exquisite  ear  for  music  your  wife  has;  and 
while  this  machine  is  good,  I  should  like  to  have  her  enjoy 
this  more  expensive  one  which  has  a  tone  much  better 
suited  to  her  taste."  After  that,  it  didn't  take  much  argu- 
ing to  persuade  him  to  buy  the  better  instrument.  This 
was  not  insincere  flattery,  something  that  seldom  works, 
but  it  was  using  a  fact  that  according  to  the  laws  of  human 
nature  was  pretty  sure  to  make  its  appeal. 

4.  He  must  be  systematic  and  patient  in  giving  his  at- 
tention to  details.  He  must  be  particular  about  the  ar- 
rangement of  his  stock,  and  must  be  able  to  put  his  hand 
in  an  instant  on  any  article  that  is  called  for.  A  mer- 
chant who  had,  in  respect  to  location  and  the  quality  of 
goods  carried,  the  best  store  of  its  kind  in  his  town,  lost 
an  immense  amount  of  trade  and  all  but  went  into  bank- 
ruptcy because  often  neither  he  nor  his  clerks  were  able 
to  find  the  things  called  for.  People  would  have  to  wait 
so  long  while  an  old-fashioned  search  was  made  for  the 
desired  article,  that  they  preferred  going  to  another  store. 
Attention  to  details  jyould  have  made  an  immense  dif- 
ference in  that  "business.  Not  only  in  the  handling  of 
goods  but  in  the  keeping  of  accounts  and  the  making  out 
of  sales  slips,  this  same  quality  is  necessary. 

5.  He  must  take  an  active  interest  in  the  goods  which 
he  sells,  and  know  them  thoroughly  in  all  their  parts.  He 
must  know  how  they  are  made  and  what  they  are  made  of; 
what  their  good  qualities  are,  and  what  they  are  used  for. 


126  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

This  means  being  willing  to  work  hard  so  as  to  learn  one's 
goods  from  every  point  of  view.  A  woman  remarked  re- 
cently that  she  thought  that  girls  who  sold  cooking  utensils 
should  have  a  course  in  domestic  science  so  that  they  would 
be  sure  to  know  the  uses  of  different  pots  and  pans,  and  to 
tell  customers  why  certain  shapes,  materials,  and  sizes 
were  better  for  certain  purposes.  Dry  goods  clerks  are 
sometimes  given  definite  courses  in  textiles  and  styles,  and 
it  is  easy  to  see  the  need  of  this.  It  is  sometimes  even 
laughable  to  see  the  dependence  of  the  buying  public  upon 
the  opinions  and  information  of  the  salesmen ;  but  at  the 
same  time  this  shows  the  importance  of  the  salesman's  get- 
ting reliable  information. 

6.  And  this  leads  us  directly  to  our  next  quality,  namely, 
a  habit  of  absolute  honesty  of  statement.  Charles  M. 
Schwab  makes  the  following  statement:  "  Integrity,  inci- 
dentally, is  one  of  the  mightiest  factors  in  salesmanship. 
If  you  have  a  reputation  for  stating  facts  exactly,  for  never 
attempting  to  gain  momentary  advantage  through  exagger- 
ation, you  possess  the  basis  of  all  successful  salesmanship." 

7.  The  successful  man  in  the  commercial  occupations 
should  know  something  of  accounting.  Business  is  based 
on  the  making  of  profit,  and  goods  must  be  sold  not  only 
for  a  greater  amount  than  that  paid  for  that  particular 
article,  but  all  the  overhead  expenses,  such  as  store  rent, 
taxes,  salaries,  equipment,  and  advertising,  must  be  taken 
into  account.  Nothing  is  gained  by  selling  an  article  with- 
out a  reasonable  profit.  Since,  as  we  said  before,  the  small 
store  represents  so  large  a  part  of  the  retail  business,  there 
is  a  possibility  of  the  capable  salesman's  coming  to  have  a 
store  of  his  own.  In  such  a  case  it  is  absolutely  essential 
that  he  have  a  thorough  understanding  of  cost  accounting. 
A  business  man  says  that  there  are  more  failures  from  a 


COMMERCIAL   OCCUPATIONS  127 

lack  of  "  counting  the  cost  "   than  from  any  other  one 
cause. 

So  if  you  are  going  to  be  a  salesman,  you  must  first  of 
all  be  able  to  talk  readily  so  as  to  present  your  proposition 
well ;  next,  you  must  cultivate  a  pleasant  personality  with  a 
habit  of  being  gracious  to  all  sorts  of  people;  you  must 
understand  people  well  enough  to  know  how  to  appeal  to 
them;  you  must  be  carefully  systematic  in  every  detail 
of  your  work ;  you  must  be  willing  to  work  hard  to  learn 
both  your  particular  business  and  general  methods  of  ac- 
counting, and  must  have  the  quality  of  absolute  integrity. 
You  can  see  the  differences  between  this  and  the  other  busi- 
nesses we  have  talked  about.  You  are  dealing  with  people 
more  than  with  things  so  that  manual  skill  and  dexterity 
do  not.  count  so  much  as  the  qualities  that  aid  in  influencing 
men  and  women. 

Preparation 

If  you  decide  that  this  is  your  work,  you  will  at  once 
set  about  getting  the  necessary  preparation.  More  and 
more  the  demand  is  for  trained  salesmen.  Paul  Nystrom, 
in  his  Retail  Selling  and  Store  Management,  makes  this 
prophecy,  "  Salesmen  will  be  recruited  from  the  ranks  of 
graduates  of  high  school  and  college  courses  in  commerce, 
and  salesmen  will  be  taught  in  a  manner  similar  to  the 
present  teaching  of  other  vocations  in  industrial  schools." 
Already  some  stores  demand  that  their  salesmen  have  a 
high  school  education,  and  some  of  the  largest  stores  are 
trying  to  get  college  men.  The  use  of  good  English  is 
important:  sometimes  a  sale  has  been  lost  because  of  a 
poor  command  of  English.  Some  of  the  department  stores 
have  found  this  lack  so  great  that  courses  in  business 
English  are  given  to  the  clerks.     Salesmanship  is  an  oc- 


128  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

cupation  in  which  the  high  school  boy  or  girl  has  the  ad- 
vantage. Then  a  salesman  should  have  a  good  training  in 
arithmetic  so  that  he  can  make  change  quickly  and  ac- 
curately. A  young  man  progressed  rapidly  as  ticket  seller 
in  a  railway  terminal  because  of  his  unusual  ability  to 
make  change  quickly.  You  may  be  surprised  to  learn 
that  a  number  of  storekeepers  who  were  questioned  re- 
garding the  school  training  of  boys  mentioned  this  par- 
ticular thing. 

Where  is  the  boy  or  girl  to  get  the  necessary  training? 
Courses  in  salesmanship  may  be  taken  in  many  high 
schools  and  colleges  and  there  are  special  schools  in  sales- 
manship, the  best  known,  perhaps,  being  in  Boston.  In 
the  schools  of  commerce  not  only  salesmanship,  but  cost 
accounting,  business  methods,  advertising,  and  stenogra- 
phy, are  taught.  If  you  are  not  able  to  get  this  training 
there  is  another  chance  open  to  you  if  you  can  secure  em- 
ployment in  some  of  the  large  department  stores.  Here 
a  sort  of  secretary  is  hired  who  has  charge  of  regular 
classes  and  courses  of  training  for  the  employees.  Those 
who  are  eager  to  advance  may  take  a  three  years'  course. 
They  are  instructed  in  the  store's  system,  have  demonstra- 
tion sales,  study  textiles,  have  experience  in  the  marking 
room,  adjustment  bureau,  at  the  cashier's  desk,  in  the 
millinery,  drapery,  art-goods,  alteration,  mail-order,  in- 
voicing departments,  and  the  bureau  of  accounts.  After 
a  period  of  such  instruction  they  are  given  actual  exper- 
ience in  selling  and  are  ready  for  promotions.  We  are 
told  that  the  high  school  graduate  will  make  much  more 
rapid  progress  in  this  course  than  the  boy  or  girl  without 
that  amount  of  school  work. 

Moreover,  no  matter  what  his  preliminary  training,  the 
salesman  must  be  continually  educating  himself.  We  have 
spoken  of  the  necessity  of  his  knowing  all  he  possibly  can 


COMMERCIAL    OCCUPATIONS  129 

about  the  goods  be  has  to  sell.  He  cannot  learn  this  once 
for  all,  but  must  be  constantly  reading  and  studying  so  as 
to  keep  informed  about  new  materials  and  new  articles 
that  will  be  introduced  from  time  to  time.  There  are 
trade  papers  from  which  the  salesman  can  learn  much. 
These  contain  consultations  on  various  subjects  and  he  may 
write  to  them  for  advice  when  he  is  perplexed.  We  said 
in  talking  of  qualifications  that  a  pleasant  personality  was 
an  important  point.  Usually  we  think  of  personality  as 
a  sort  of  mysterious  thing  with  which  people  either  are  or 
are  not  naturally  gifted  and  which  is  beyond  their  con- 
trol. Mr.  Nystrom,  in  the  book  from  which  we  just 
quoted,  says  that  "  a  complete  knowledge  of  his  goods  will 
often  take  the  place  of  personality."  Rather,  it  seems  to 
me,  a  complete  knowledge  of  his  goods,  together  with  a 
courteous  way  of  using  that  knowledge,  goes  a  long  way 
towards  creating  a  pleasing  personality.  Imagine  for 
instance  a  young  woman  who  is  trying  to  sell  a  high  class 
sewing  machine.  We  may  say  that  the  buyer  does  not 
know  the  advantages  of  one  machine  over  another.  The 
saleswoman  knows  in  just  what  respects  hers  is  preferable 
to  each  machine  that  the  buyer  may  mention.  This  abso- 
lute knowledge  gives  her  a  poise  and  a  calm  way  of  talking 
that  adds  to  the  charm  of  her  personality.  In  a  helpful 
way  she  can  tell  how  the  machine  may  be  kept  in  running 
order,  why  certain  parts  are  durable,  and  just  how  and 
for  what  purpose  to  use  each  patent  attachment.  If  she 
has  a  thorough  knowledge  of  her  machine  and  has  culti- 
vated the  habit  of  being  interested  in  the  problems  of  her 
purchaser,  she  has  gone  a  long  way  towards  gaining  a 
pleasing  personality,  and  in  this  manner  she  is  getting  a 
certain  preparation  for  her  work. 

So  if  you  are  interested  in  salesmanship,  first  of  all  take 
all  the  commercial  work  possible  in  high  school;  then  if 


130  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

you  can  afford  it,  go  to  a  school  of  commerce,  preferably 
one  connected  with  some  university.  But  when  you  begin 
to  work,  no  matter  what  the  position  with  which  you  start, 
take  advantage  of  every  possible  bit  of  instruction  that  you 
can  get,  and  never  stop  trying  to  grow  in  your  work. 

Opportunities 

In  general  there  is  always  a  demand  for  a  good  sales- 
man. The  selling  end  of  the  business  determines  its  suc- 
cess, and  the  man  who  can  sell  goods  is  pretty  sure  to  find 
a  place.  But  in  this,  as  in  other  lines,  the  most  room  is 
at  the  top.  Mr.  Chalmers  of  Detroit,  a  noted  automo- 
bile manufacturer,  is  the  authority  for  the  statement  that 
there  are  very  few  $10,000  salesmen.  He  can  get  plenty 
of  men  whom  he  would  pay  from  $3000  to  $5000,  but 
$10,000  men  are  scarce. 

This  may  give  you  a  wrong  idea  as  to  the  financial  re- 
turns of  the  salesman,  but  the  truth  is  they  vary  so 
that  it  is  hard  to  get  any  standard.  At  least  Mr.  Chal- 
mers' statement  shows  us  that  the  most  successful  sales- 
men, those  holding  the  best  positions  in  the  best  firms, 
command  very  good  salaries,  and  that  the  selling  of  goods 
is  such  an  important  part  of  all  business  that  a  company 
can  afford  to  pay  a  big  amount  to  the  man  who  can  really 
bring  results.  So  there  is  a  goal  at  which  to  aim.  For 
the  average  young  boy  and  girl,  however,  wages  are  very 
low;  and  those  who  leave  school  to  clerk  in  a  store  before 
they  have  graduated  from  high  school,  have  not  much 
chance  of  advancing  far.  For  instance,  in  some  stores,  be- 
ginners are  paid  $4.00  per  week,  and  may  in  time  advance 
to  $8.00.  On  the  other  hand,  in  many  stores,  the  nomi- 
nal wages  do  not  show  the  actual  pay.  Some  give  an 
extra  amount  for  selling  certain  goods,  some  pay  more  dur- 
ing the  holidays,  others  allow  employees  to  buy  their  goods 


COMMERCIAL    OCCUPATIONS  131 

at  a  discount,  while  the  traveling  salesman  lias  a  big  oppor- 
tunity to  make  money  on  the  commission  basis. 

As  to  hours,  the  law  has  adjusted  them  pretty  well. 
Most  stores  in  the  large  cities  close  on  Saturday  'after- 
noon during  the  summer,  while  in  the  smaller  towns  they 
usually  keep  open  on  Saturday  night.  However,  it  is  sel- 
dom that  the  hours  are  excessively  long,  and  conditions 
as  to  ventilation  and  other  comforts  are  all  the  time  get- 
ting better. 

As  in  other  occupations,  opportunity  comes  to  the  one 
who  can  suggest  and  work  out  new  and  useful  ideas.  He  is 
the  one  who  rises  to  the  higher  positions,  such  as  sales  man- 
ager, manager,  or  even  proprietor  of  a  store.  For  him 
there  is  the  widest  opportunity  to  make  use  of  judgment 
and  executive  ability.  How  much  depends  upon  the  con- 
struction and  equipment  of  his  store,  upon  the  choice  and 
treatment  of  his  employees,  upon  a  careful  system  of  cost 
accounting,  upon  buying  the  right  goods, —  goods  that  are 
in  demand  in  one  locality  are  often  useless  in  another,  for 
instance,  it  is  said  that  ready-made  garments  of  a  size 
that  will  sell  in  the  West  are  too  large  for  the  average 
woman  in  New  York, —  upon,  in  fact,  numberless  schemes 
and  calculations  which,  taken  altogether,  form  a  most  fas- 
cinating proposition. 

The  following  is  a  point  of  attack  that  is  being  used  by 
sales  managers  a  good  deal  of  late.  Instead  of  trusting 
entirely  to  the  skill  of  the  salesman,  who,  we  used  to  be 
told,  should  be  able  to  sell  anything  to  any  one  whether  or 
not  he  wanted  it  or  could  afford  it,  now  many  managers 
are  of  the  opinion  that  a  thorough  canvass  should  be  made 
to  learn  just  what  sort  of  things  are  needed  in  certain  local- 
ities. They  then  offer  a  grade  of  those  things  at  a  price 
that  the  people  can  afford  to  pay.  For  instance,  a  dealer 
in  motor  trucks  for  farmers  made  a   study  to  discover 


132  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

how  many  trucks  a  certain  farmer  would  need  in  order 
to  carry  on  his  business  in  the  best  way.  He  calculated 
that  while  this  particular  man  had  only  one  truck  he 
needed  exactly  three.  So  he  went  to  him  with  this  propo- 
sition and  proved  to  him  that  he  needed  two  more 
trueks.  He  made  his  sale,  whereas  without  this  method 
and  with  only  the  powers  of  persuasion  he  might  or  might 
not  have  sold  one.  An  instructor  in  a  school  of  commerce 
was  employed  by  a  large  commercial  house  to  organize  its 
business  on  this  basis.  He  did  very  thorough  work  simply 
planning  the  sales  territory  so  that  goods  were  offered  just 
where  they  would  be  of  use  and  so  that  just  the  right 
amount  was  offered.  The  business  increased  so  rapidly 
that  the  young  instructor  was  offered  a  permanent  position 
at  a  much  larger  salary  than  he  was  then  making.  So 
much  for  the  value  of  having  a  thorough  training  and  of 
keeping  awake  for  new  methods.  On  the  other  hand,  as 
an  illustration  of  the  fact  that  bright  men  sometimes  think 
that  there  are  other  allurements  more  valuable  than  money, 
we  might  add  that  this  particular  man  preferred  the  satis- 
faction of  teaching  to  the  larger  salary  in  the  business 
world.  But  besides  the  interest  in  management  and  the 
financial  return,  there  is  an  interest  in  salesmanship  that 
probably  most  people  do  not  think  of.  This  point  can  be 
best  expressed  by  quoting  again  from  Mr.  Nystrom's  book : 
"  The  present  standards  of  living  and  of  comfort  are  due 
largely  to  the  salesman.  The  vast  number  of  people  who 
are  carrying  life  insurance,  and  who  own  sewing  machines, 
is  due  largely  to  salesmen.  While  this  is  not  the  usual 
motive,  the  result  is  the  same,  and  the  salesman  has  the  op- 
portunity of  feeling  that  he  is  helping  the  progress  of  his 
age." 

You  will  have  no  trouble  in  calling  to  mind  the  names  of 
many  men  who  have  been  preeminently  successful  in  the 


COMMERCIAL    OCCUPATIONS  133 

commercial  business.  Before  taking  up  some  other  lines 
of  work  belonging  to  this  group,  it  might  be  interesting  to 
see  what  some  of  these  men  have  said  about  salesmanship. 
While  more  business  in  the  aggregate  is  done  by  the  small 
retail  stores,  yet  the  largest  establishments  and  those  of 
which  the  founders  are  best  known  are  the  department 
store,  the  mail-order  house,  and  the  chain  store.  As  an 
example  of  the  ideas  of  a  great  department  store,  here  are 
a  few  sentences  quoted  from  a  little  book  that  is  prepared 
by  Marshall  Field  &  Company  for  their  employees. 

"  Older  employees  are  expected  to  set  a  proper  example 
of  courtesy,  energy,  cheerfulness,  and  enthusiasm  to  those 
around  them." 

"  The  habitual  making  of  mistakes  will  be  considered 
cause  for  dismissal." 

"  You  will  have  patience  in  serving  customers,  showing 
goods  willingly  and  pleasantly,  without  asking  too  many 
questions  as  to  price,  width,  size  or  color.  See  that  every 
customer  in  every  transaction  is  the  chief  point  of  interest 
in  your  mind  at  that  time." 

"  Inasmuch  as  the  expansion  of  this  business  necessitates 
continual  additions  to  our  force  of  employees,  applications 
from  capable  persons  are  always  welcome." 

"  More  and  more  we  wish  you  to  he  intelligent,  loyal,  and 
progressive.  We  propose  that  this  great  store  shall  be  even 
more  than  ever  a  field  for  employment  in  which  '  merit 
shall  win,'  and  we  desire  that  the  possible  careless,  tempo- 
rary overlooking  of  any  employee  shall  never  prevent  that 
person  from  obtaining  the  fair  recognition  which  has  been 
earned." 

Mr.  Sears,  of  Sears.  Roebuck  &  Company,  built  up  one 
of  the  largest  mail-order  houses  in  the  country.  He  him- 
self said  that  he  worked  on  the  basis  of  finding  out  what  a 
great  many  people  wanted  and  where  these  people  were, 


134  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

and  then  of  offering  them  these  goods  at  a  reasonable  price. 
This,  you  see,  is  much  like  the  new  method  in  salesmanship. 

The  president  of  a  system  of  chain  stores  issued  a  series 
of  rules  for  his  clerks.  Here  are  just  one  or  two  out  of 
his  many  suggestions :  "  A  customer  asking  for  some- 
thing not  in  stock  should  never  be  told  in  so  many  words 
that  there  is  a  substitute  '  just  as  good.'  Cut  out  that 
phrase.  Earnestly  recommend  as  possibly  acceptable 
whatever  you  think  will  satisfy,  but  leave  the  impression 
always  that  the  customer  better  knows  what  he  wants  than 
you  do." 

"'  Try  to  remember  just  what  your  customer  wants.  He 
will  appreciate  the  fact  that  his  preferences  are  kept  in 
mind." 

"  Know  your  stock  as  you  know  your  way  home." 

"  Eead  the  trade  journals  at  home  and  keep  yourself 
posted  in  the  details  of  your  business.  A  man  who  suc- 
ceeds in  this  or  any  other  business  is  the  man  who  realizes 
that  he  does  not  know  it  all,  but  takes  advantage  of  every 
opportunity  to  acquire  useful  information." 

This  president  himself  started  as  a  clerk,  and  has  de- 
veloped this  great  system  of  chain  stores. 

Notice  how  every  one  of  these  opinions  of  the  three  men 
quoted  illustrates  some  one  of  the  qualities  we  have  been 
discussing. 

THE  OFFICE  FORCE 

We  have  talked  of  the  selling  side  because  it  is  the  side 
that  actually  brings  in  returns,  and  because  after  all  sell- 
ing is  the  business  of  commerce.  But  just  as  we  found  in 
railroading  that,  while  the  transporting  of  passengers  and 
freight  is  its  main  business,  it  needs  a  big  office  force  to 
keep  the  organization  in  working  order,  so  in  commerce, 
there  are  endless  details  aside  from  the  actual  buying  and 


COMMERCIAL    OCCUPATIONS  135 

selling  that  demand  a  good  corps  of  workers.  This  office 
force,  indeed,  is  found  in  almost  every  industry.  It  is 
made  up  of  stenographers,  bookkeepers,  secretaries,  clerks, 
credit  men,  cashiers,  telephone  and  telegraph  operators, 
office  managers,  filing  clerks,  and  many  others.  Many 
people  who  do  not  have  the  "  knack  "  of  selling  things, 
can  make  good  in  this  other  side  of  commercial  work. 
What,  then,  are  the  requirements  for  these  office  posi- 
tions ? 

Many  young  men  and  women  start  as  stenographers 
and  typists.  To  succeed  here  they  must  be  quick  in 
their  movements,  have  good  memories,  and  the  power  of 
long  continued  concentration.  The  quick  and  accurate 
movements  must  be  gained  by  training  and  much  prac- 
tice. Even  when  a  stenographer  has  completed  a  course 
in  school  she  has  not  always  reached  her  greatest  effi- 
ciency. There  is  at  present  a  tendency  to  reduce  all 
power  to  actual  measurements,  and  this,  certain  business 
houses  have  tried  to  do  with  stenography.  In  February, 
1916,  the  magazine,  System,  told  of  an  experiment  of 
this  sort.  In  a  certain  office  a  stenographer  who  was  mak- 
ing $15  a  week  told  her  employer  that  she  thought  she 
was  worth  more  than  that.  He  replied  that  they  would 
test  her  efficiency,  which  they  did  by  means  of  a  schedule 
that  had  been  worked  out.  By  this  definite  test  they 
found  that  she  was  worth  not  $15  a  week  but  $9.  She 
herself  was  surprised  at  the  result  and  set  out  to  work  up 
to  a  higher  efficiency,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  same 
test  showed  her  worth  $18  a  week.  The  following  is 
the  standard  that  was  set  at  that  time.  For  work  that 
was  considered  100  per  cent,  efficient  $18  a  week  was 
paid.  This  meant  that  the  typist  could  write  at  the  rate 
of  sixty  words  a  minute  for  fifteen  consecutive  minutes. 
This  would  be  about  five  minutes  for  the  ordinary  type- 


136  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

written  page.  This  at  least  gives  a  standard  by  which  one 
might  judge  what  lie  could  do  and  what  that  work  was 
worth.  The  use  of  steuotypy,  a  sort  of  machine  short- 
hand, instead  of  the  usual  stenography  is  coming  more 
and  more  into  demand.  The  writing  has  the  advantage 
of  being  much  more  easily  deciphered. 

Preparation 

A  typist  who  can  spell,  use  good  English,  and  has  a 
fair  amount  of  general  information,  is  rather  rare  and  in 
demand.  A  business  man  appreciates  a  stenographer  who 
can  write  a  creditable  letter  after  having  been  given  the 
main  points,  without  having  it  dictated  word  for  word. 
A  thorough  preparation  for  such  high  grade  work  may  be 
had  in  many  of  the  public  schools.  This  has  an  advan- 
tage over  the  course  that  is  given  in  the  distinctively  busi- 
ness schools,  in  that  there  is  opportunity  for  a  general  all 
round  education. 

Opportunities 

Many  boys  and  girls  take  a  short  course  in  stenography 
and  typewriting  and  feel  that  they  are  then  ready  to 
earn  their  living.  This  makes  a  goud  deal  of  competi- 
tion among  the  beginners;  but  those  who  have  a  broad 
general  education,  and  become  expert  in  their  work,  have 
no  trouble  in  getting  good  positions.  A  stenographer 
who  becomes  a  private  secretary  has  a  chance  to  learn  the 
inner  workings  of  a  business,  and  so  if  he  has  ability  is  in 
line  for  a  position  of  importance.  Many  successful  men 
started  in  this  way.  But  one  hard  and  fast  rule,  the 
private  secretary  must  remember:  he  is  in  a  position  where 
strict  loyalty  must  be  observed,  where  all  the  information 
which  he  gains  about  the  business  is  to  be  considered  abso- 
lutely confidential.      If  he  can  not  do  this  all  the  ability 


COMMERCIAL    OCCUPATIONS  137 

that  lie  may  have  will  not  help  him  to  rise.  Besides  posi- 
tions in  offices  of  ;ill  sorts,  there  arc  other  openings  for 
stenographers.  Sometimes  a  young  man  or  woman  will 
rent  desk  space  and  advertise  as  a  public  stenographer. 
There  is  especial  chance  for  this  in  or  near  hotels  which  are 
patronized  by  commercial  travelers.  Again,  another  posi- 
tion to  which  the  most  expert  aspire  is  that  of  court 
stenographer  which  is  well  paid  but  rather  trying  work. 

Another  common  office  position  is  that  of  bookkeeper. 
Here  the  chief  requirements  are  neatness  and  accuracy, 
and  here,  as  in  stenography,  one  must  be  able  to  concen- 
trate so  as  to  be  able  to  accomplish  his  work  amid  the 
noises  and  distractions  of  a  busy  office.  Although  it  is 
said  that  "  every  house  has  its  own  system  of  bookkeep- 
ing," still  it  is  necessary  for  a  bookkeeper  to  learn  the 
general  theory  of  accounts.  Often  a  bright  young  man 
is  able  to  devise  new  schemes  for  the  particular  busi- 
ness for  which  he  may  be  working,  lie  may  get  fun- 
damental training  in  bookkeeping  in  his  high  school 
course  or  he  may  attend  a  business  school,  or,  better 
still,  if  he  should  take  the  commercial  course  in  a  uni- 
versity, he  would  have  a  thorough,  well  grounded  course 
that  would  enable  him  to  start  out  as  a  bookkeeper  and 
to  attain  a  more  responsible  position.  Frequently  a  suc- 
cessful bookkeeper  will  become  a  public  accountant  or 
auditor,  and  will  be  engaged  by  a  business  house  to  exam- 
ine the  books  of  its  bookkeepers.  The  cost  accountant  of 
large  firms  was  in  most  cases  first  a  bookkeeper. 

Office  work  calls  also  for  clerks  to  perform  many  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  work.  The  chief  requisites  for  success  as 
a  clerk  are  quickness  and  accuracy.  In  most  large  offices 
are  found  filing  clerks.  These,  as  the  name  implies,  have 
charge  of  the  files  and  must  be  able  to  classify  any  paper 
so  that  they  may  be  able  to  lay  their  hands  upon  it  at  a 


138  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

moment's  notice.  There  are  shipping  clerks,  clerks  in 
charge  of  adjustments  and  complaints,  and  numerous 
others  needed  to  keep  the  business  going.  There  are 
"  credit "  men  who  deal  with  the  people  who  wish  to  have 
goods  charged. 

However,  if  one  has  the  desire  to  go  into  commercial 
work,  he  is  not  so  likely  to  choose  some  one  of  these  office 
positions,  but  to  start  wherever  an  opening  is  offered, 
and  then  gradually,  if  he  is  eager  to  learn,  both  he  and 
his  employer  will  find  out  for  what  he  is  best  fitted.  If 
you  are  inclined  toward  the  commercial  life  in  distinction 
from  manufacturing,  agriculture,  or  the  professions,  you 
will  probably  get  all  the  training  possible  in  the  high 
school,  and  in  the  university  if  you  can  afford  it,  then  you 
will  start  either  in  a  business  office  or  as  a  salesman,  and 
by  keeping  your  eyes  open  and  continuing  the  process 
of  education,  you  will  have  a  pretty  good  opportunity  of 
rising  to  the  place  for  which  you  are  fitted  and  in  which 
you  can  do  the  b?st  work. 

Disadvantages 

The  work  is  so  various  that  it  is  hard  to  say  what  these 
are.  In  general  it  may  be  said  that  the  business  world 
is  strenuous,  indeed,  exceedingly  hard  on  those  in  respon- 
sible positions.  Competition  is  keen,  and  the  rush  and 
tumult  are  hard  on  nervous  natures.  However,  many  of- 
fices are  pleasant  places  in  which  to  work,  and  for  one 
who  has  the  sort  of  constitution  to  stand  confining,  steady 
work,  there  are  many  advantages. 

Chances  for  Women 

This  is  a  branch  of  work  in  which  women  have  a  good 
opportunity.  You  don't  need  to  be  told  of  the  sales- 
women in  the  stores,  many  of  whom  rise  to  better  paying 


COMMERCIAL    OCCUPATIONS  139 

and  pleasanter  positions  as  heads  of  departments  and  buy- 
ers. The  report  of  the  United  States  Census  for  1910 
showed  209,937  more  women  than  men  employed  as  ste- 
nographers. These  figures  go  to  show  that  this  is  a  place 
where  there  is  a  pretty  good  opportunity  for  girls. 
Women  are  also  filling  practically  all  the  other  kinds  of 
office  positions  with  good  success.  And  it  is  not  very  rare 
for  women  to  become  managers  and  even  partners  in  a  busi- 
ness. Mrs.  Letcher,  of  the  Boston  Store  in  Chicago,  is  an 
example  of  a  woman  who  has  achieved  a  remarkable  suc- 
cess in  this  line.  Many  other  women  have  managed 
stores  and  shops  of  their  own.  In  fact,  there  is  practically 
no  kind  of  position  in  the  commercial  world  that  is  not 
somewhere  filled  by  a  woman. 

ADVERTISING 

Advertising  has  come  to  be  a  business  in  itself.  The  big 
commercial  establishments  have  their  advertising  depart- 
ments which  are  made  up  of  several  divisions,  such  as, 
newspaper  advertising,  art  department,  sign  department, 
circular  and  announcement  departments,  and  window 
decorating.  Then  besides  the  advertisers  connected  with 
any  special  business  house,  there  are  companies  whese 
business  it  is  to  advertise  other  people's  products  by  dis- 
play on  sign  boards  or  in  the  street  cars.  Newspapers 
often  prefer  to  negotiate  for  advertisements  with  an  adver- 
tising company  rather  than  directly  with  the  advertiser. 

Qualifications 

There  should  be  a  nimble  wit  to  know  what  will  attract 
attention  and  how.  There  should  be  skill  to  put  this  in 
an  appealing  form,  either  skill  in  using  words,  or  artistic 
skill  in  sketching  illustrations,  or  in  designing  a  beautiful 
arrangement  for  dressing  windows. 


140  vocational  civics 

Preparation 

There  are  courses  in  advertising  in  the  business  schools. 
Even  though  one  lias  the  natural  ability  to  pick  out  what 
is  important,  he  must  be  trained  so  that  he  can  say  it  in 
the  fewest  possible  words,  and  still  get  the  desired  result. 
This  takes  training  and  much  practice.  Then  one  at  the 
head  of  such  a  department  must  be  trained  in  business 
management.  It  is  necessary  for  him  to  find  out  from  the 
various  departments  what  is  to  be  advertised;  to  keep  filed 
all  the  advertisements  from  his  store  and  from  others  that 
deal  in  similar  goods ;  to  keep  account  of  all  costs,  and  to 
know  the  space  allotted  to  the  various  departments.  It 
is  readilv  seen  that  all  this  takes  some  training:.  It  can 
also  be  seen  that  training  for  certain  other  lines  of  busi- 
ness would  also  help  here.  In  fact,  it  is  usually  a  man 
trained  in  newspaper  work  who  is  selected  as  an  advertiser. 
Sometimes,  also,  he  is  selected  from  the  store,  where  per- 
haps he  has  shown  as  a  salesman,  by  his  suggestions,  that 
he  has  the  instinct  for  advertising. 

Opportunities 

There  are  a  good  many  openings  in  the  advertising  field. 
In  a  commercial  house,  this  department  is  usually  organ- 
ized in  the  following  way.  At  the  top  is  the  chief  execu- 
tive, the  advertising  manager,  and  next  his  assistant,  and 
the  office  assistant.  Then  there  is  the  head  of  the  art 
department  and  the  artists  under  him,  all  of  whom  we 
shall  study,  under  "  the  artist  in  commercial  work."  Then 
comes  the  head  window  dresser  and  his  assistants.  This 
man  is  a  sort  of  practical  artist.  More  and  more  the 
stores  are  aiming  at  artistic  effects  in  their  windows. 
The  window  dresser  has  somewhat  the  same  ability  as 
the  designer  and  draper  in  the  dressmakers'  trade. 


COMMERCIAL    OCCUPATIONS  141 

A  boy  who  wants  to  go  into  this  business  may  start  as 
an  errand  boy  at  $3.50  or  $4.00  a  week.  Then  if  he 
could  prove  that  he  had  the  ability,  he  might  begin  to 
write  advertisements,  at  $12.00  a  week.  From  that  point 
the  salary  increases  to  $30.00  a  week.  Then  he  might 
work  up  through  assistant  manager  to  manager  at  a  sal- 
ary ranging  from  $30.00  to  $50.00  a  week.  Some  of 
the  best  positions  pay  a  salary  of  $10,000  a  year.  How- 
ever, it  is  the  educated  boy  who  has  taken  time  for  spe- 
cial preparation  who  will  rise  to  these  higher  positions. 
The  girls  also  have  a  chance  here.  One  young  woman  is 
drawing  a  large  salary  as  editor  of  the  advertising  maga- 
zine for  a  wholesale  millinery  establishment.  Another 
young  woman  who  has  just  graduated  from  college  is  em- 
ployed as  advertiser  by  a  medium  sized  retail  store.  A 
young  man,  a  college  graduate,  who  tried  teaching  and 
found  that  he  did  not  fit,  obtained  a  position  as  an  agent 
for  the  owner  of  a  system  of  sign  boards.  This,  of  course, 
calls  chiefly  for  the  ability  of  the  salesman;  but  here  he 
found  himself  and  is  doing  very  successful  work. 

EXERCISES 

1.  Explain  in  what  way  the  farmer  must  be  a  salesman.  Men- 
tion some  of  the  people  to  whom  he  may  sell  his  produce. 

2.  Is  it  possible  for  a  salesman  to  spoil  a  sale  by  talking  too  much? 

3.  How  can  one  improve  his  English  if  unable  to  attend  school? 

4.  In  some  businesses  there  are  sales  talks  and  arguments  printed 
by  the  company  and  given  to  the  salesmen.  These  they  are  expected 
to  memorize.  Do  you  think  this  a  good  plan  or  not?  Give  your 
reasons. 

5.  When  you  go  into  a  store  to  make  a  purchase,  do  you  prefer  a 
salesman  who  is  interested  in  your  wants  or  one  who  seems  indif- 
ferent?    Why? 

6.  Is  a  salesman  always  aide  to  tell  by  appearances  whether  to  of- 
fer expensive  or  inexpensive  goods  to  his  customers?  What  can  he 
do  in  such  a  case? 


142  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

7.  Is  a  large  credit  department  a  profitable  way  to  manage  a  re- 
tail business?     Give  your  reasons.     How  often  should  bills  be  sent? 

8.  Will  a  shoe  clerk  be  a  more  successful  salesman  if  he  knows 
about  the  preparation  of  leather  and  the  making  of  shoes? 

9.  At  the  beginning  of  the  war  there  was  a  sudden  rise  in  the 
price  of  almost  all  lines  of  merchandise.  Was  it  good  business  to 
sell  the  goods  on  hand  at  the  old  price  or  should  they  have  been  sold 
at  an  advance? 

10.  The  day  has  passed  when  a  man  must  be  a  "good  sport"  to  be 
a  successful  salesman.     What  has  caused  this? 

11.  Is  it  wise  for  a  young  salesman  to  work  all  day  and  attend 
school  in  the  evening? 

12.  Is  it  better  for  a  beginner  to  be  in  a  small  office  where  he  has 
many  different  kinds  of  work  to  do  or  in  a  large  office  where  he  does 
just  one   particular   thing?     Would   the  latter  become  monotonous? 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Gilbert,  Eleanor.  The  Ambitious  Woman  in  Business.  Funk  & 
Wagnalls,   1016. 

Stevens,  Bertha  M.  Boys  and  Girls  in  Commercial  Work.  Cleve- 
land Foundation,   1910. 

Lloyd,  John  F.     The  Boy  in  Business.     J.  Long,  1916. 

O'Leary,  Iris  P.  Department  Store  Occupations.  Cleveland  Foun- 
dation,  191G. 

Nystrom,  Paul  H.     Retail  Selling  and  Store  Management. 

Article  in  System,  Feb.,  1916.  "How  much  is  your  Stenographer 
Worth  ?  " 

Reed.     Salesmanship. 

SiiEi.noN,  A.  F.  The  Art  of  Selling.  Sheldon  University  Press, 
1911. 

Calkins.     The  Business  of  Advertising. 

Scott,  Waiter  Dill.  Influencing  Men  in  Business.  Roland  Press 
Co.,  1911. 

Scott,  Walter  Dill.  The  Scientific  Selection  of  Salesmen.  Article 
in  The  Advertising  and  Selling  Magazine,  Oct.  and  Nov.,  1905. 

Lorimer,  George  H.  letters  from  a  Self-Made  Merchant  to  His  Son. 
Small,  Maynard  &  Co.,  1904. 

Eaton,  Jeannette  and  Stevens,  Bertha  M.  Commercial  Work  and 
Training  for  Girls.     The  Macmillan  Co. 

Allen,  Frederick  J.     Business  Employments.     Ginn  &  Co.,  1916. 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  PROFESSIONS 

Referring  once  more  to  our  diagram,  let  us  see  how  the 
professions  tit  into  the  complicated  scheme  of  occupa- 
tions. Built  upon  the  four  or  five  groups  of  fundamental 
occupations,  just  discussed,  are  what  we  have  called  pro- 
fessional services.  As  we  go  on,  you  will  see  that  these 
serve  as  helpers,  in  most  cases  as  indispensable  helpers, 
in  the  various  groups  of  occupations  we  have  studied. 
With  every  profession,  we  shall  try  to  discover  how  it  helps 
each  occupation. 

Under  the  professions,  I  would  include  the  occupations 
of  the  lawyer,  the  physician,  the  teacher,  the  dentist,  the 
engineer,  the  minister,  the  professional  chemist,  and  many 
others.  There  are  in  all  these  lines  certain  conditions 
that  require  characteristics  somewhat  distinct  from  those 
of  the  farmer,  the  business  man,  and  the  manufacturer. 
For  instance,  if  one  chooses  a  profession,  it  should  be  for 
some  reason  other  than  the  hope  of  making  a  great  deal  of 
money  in  it.  It  is  possible  that  from  our  study  of  the  pro- 
fessions, some  of  you  will  feel  that  you  are  especially  quali- 
fied for  one  of  them ;  or  the  actual  work  and  ideals  may 
appeal  to  you  more  than  those  of  some  more  lucrative  busi- 
ness. Then  the  choice  should  be  made  for  these  reasons ; 
for  the  money  rewards,  in  most  cases,  are  not  comparable 
with  those  to  be  obtained  in  business.     A  banker  said  of  a 

professional  man  in  his  town,  "  S.  has  the  best  business 

143 


144  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

head  of  anyone  I  know.  Why  didn't  he  go  into  business  ? 
He  could  have  made  a  great  deal  of  money."  The  banker 
did  not  realize  that  there  are  ideals  other  than  the  mak- 
ing of  money  that  sometimes  determine  a  man's  career. 

Qualifications 

The  qualifications  are  different  for  different  professions 
and  will  be  taken  up  in  detail  later.  But  at  least  one 
trait  is  necessary  for  all.  A  professional  man  must  be  a 
student.  Not  only  is  this  necessary  during  the  years  of 
preparation,  but  it  must  be  a  perennial  process,  in  order 
that  he  may  keep  up  with  the  progress  of  his  profession. 

Preparation 

One  cannot  enter  a  profession  unless  he  has  enough 
capital  to  get  the  necessary  education.  In  nearly  every 
instance,  a  long  period  of  training  is  required, —  from  four 
to  eight  years  beyond  the  high  school.  The  person  with- 
out this  training  is  seriously  handicapped,  and  in  some 
cases  cannot  enter  upon  the  work  at  all  because  of  legal 
prohibition.  Of  course  there  have  been  exceptions  in 
the  cases  of  boys  without  money, —  and  of  girls  too,  for 
that  matter, —  who  have  been  particularly  eager  to  en- 
ter a  certain  profession ;  and  have  earned  their  prepara- 
tion by  working  in  vacations  and  late  at  night,  but  two 
things  must  be  considered  before  undertaking  such  a 
course.  One  must  allow  a  much  longer  time  to  complete 
the  preparation,  and  one  must  have  an  unusually  good  con- 
stitution. 

Disadvantages  and  Opportunities 

1.  In  some  lines,  as,  for  example,  in  the  work  of  the 
physician  and  engineer,  there  is  a  good  deal  of  physical 
risk,  while  in  that  of  the  lawyer,  or  journalist,   if  one 


THE    PROFESSIONS  145 

stands  for  what  he  believes  to  be  right,  he  often  loses  out 
financially  or  in  popularity. 

2.  Then,  there  is  nearly  always  a  "  starvation  period  ': 
when  the  young  professional  man  begins  his  work,  for  no 
one  wishes  to  entrust  important  responsibilities  to  the 
inexperienced  practitioner. 

3.  Most  professions,  especially  law,  medicine,  and  en- 
gineering, are  greatly  overcrowded ;  and,  in  all,  the  progress 
is  slow  and  the  competition  severe. 

4.  On  the  other  hand,  the  professions  offer  an  unusual 
opportunity  for  a  life  of  honor  and  dignity;  the  oppor- 
tunity to  be  of  service  to  one's  community,  and  to  live 
up  to  one's  ideals. 

With  this  much  of  a  general  introduction,  let  us  con- 
sider a  few  of  the  professions  in  detail. 

THE  LAW 

When  most  boys  think  of  being  lawyers,  they  picture 
themselves  in  court,  pleading  a  case  and  by  their  eloquence 
and  logic  winning  the  jury  over  to  their  way  of  thinking. 
But  that  is  only  one  phase  of  the  lawyer's  work,  and  some 
lawyers  never  have  any  such  experience  at  all.  More  and 
more  of  the  lawyer's  work  is  being  done  in  his  office,  in  the 
settling  of  estates,  in  determining  legal  points  concerning 
real  estate,  making  wills,  drawing  up  legal  papers,  and 
giving  advice  on  countless  matters.  Indeed,  many  cases 
that  formerly  were  decided  definitely  in  court,  are  today 
settled  by  lawyers  submitting  their  evidence  to  the  judge, 
without  public  trial. 

There  are  two  main  branches  of  legal  practice,  that  of 
the  bar,  or  the  practising  attorney,  and  that  of  the  bench, 
or  the  judge.  Then  there  are  also  the  divisions  of  crim- 
inal law  and  civil  law.     An  attorney  may  specialize  in 


14G  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

the  law  of  corporations,  in  damage  suits,  in  the  laws  re- 
garding real  estate,  in  patent  laws,  or  the  legal  side  of 
the  bond  business.  And  so  there  is  another  way  of 
dividing  the  lawyer's  work;  namely,  into  office  work,  and 
court  work. 

Thus  we  may  see  that  in  the  profession  of  law,  there 
may  be  many  kinds  of  work  calling  for  many  types  of 
mind  and  it  lias  included  in  its  ranks  many  of  the  strong- 
est minds  of  our  nation. 

Qualifications 

1.  A  quality  that  we  are  likely  to  think  of  first  is  the  love 
for  debate.  The  lawyer  must  be  interested  in  the  logical 
rather  than  the  emotional  side  of  a  question.  He  must 
be  able  to  pick  out  essential  points  and  to  connect  them 
with  other  cases,  and  at  the  same  time  to  catch  all  small 
points  that  have  a  bearing  on  his  case.  He  should  have 
the  habit  of  holding  to  facts  rather  than  theories.  A 
lawyer  gets  real  joy  out  of  a  sort  of  mental  battle.  He 
is,  indeed,  such  a  good  fighter  that  he  can  take  his  enemy's 
blows  gracefully.     He  delights  in  a  fair  fight. 

2.  Not  only  is  it  necessary  for  a  lawyer  to  be  capable  in 
argument,  he  must  also  be  able  to  give  clear,  forceful  ex- 
pression to  his  thoughts.  For  this  he  needs  a  rich  vo- 
cabulary, and  the  native  ability  to  utter  directly  and  to 
the  point  what  he  has  in  mind.  A  good  use  of  words  will 
make  his  arguments  more  forceful.  Have  you  noticed 
that  even  in  ordinary  conversation  some  people  seem  to 
have  the  ability  of  impressing  others  with  what  they  say. 
There  is  a  commanding,  clear-cut  manner  that  takes  hold, 
while  others  may  say  practically  the  same  thing  and  make 
no  impression.  Watch  yourself  and  watch  other  people 
to  see  what  is  meant  by  this  ability  and  how  far  you  have 
it.     Do  you  have  the  power  of  speaking  convincingly? 


THE    PKOFESSIONS  147 

3.  As  has  been  said  in  regard  to  all  professions,  the 
lawyer  must  have  a  studious  attitude  of  mind.  The  con- 
sultation with  a  lawyer  presupposes  on  his  part  a  vast 
amount  of  legal  knowledge.  Frequently  he  must  be  able 
to  cite  authorities.  The  most  successful  lawyers  have  been 
learned  men  devoted  to  their  books.  Not  only  must  there 
be  a  large  general  knowledge,  but  in  almost  every  par- 
ticular case  the  success  depends  upon  the  thoroughness  of 
preparation,  so  that  the  lawyer  must  keep  right  at  his 
studies  and  should  be  primarily  an  intellectual  man.  He 
spends  much  time  in  the  law  libraries,  delving  into  the 
rather  heavy  looking  volumes  there.  Are  you  naturally 
a  student,  and  would  you  be  willing  to  pore  over  books  for 
much  of  your  life  ? 

4.  He  must  have  a  knowledge  of  human  nature.  He  is 
dealing  largely  with  people,  and  must  be  able  to  judge 
what  they  are  likely  to  say  or  do.  He  should  be  able  to 
handle  men,  not  as  the  foreman  who  must  be  able  to  make 
men  work,  but  rather  as  a  leader  who  makes  men  think  and 
feel  and  see  things  as  he  thinks  and  feels  and  sees  things. 

5.  The  best  lawyer  will  have  a  strong  desire  for  jus- 
tice. All  acknowledge  the  necessity  of  this  in  the  judge, 
but  it  is  also  essential  in  the  attorney.  While  he  should 
be  interested  in  his  client,  and  call  up  all  his  energies  and 
knowledge  to  help  his  case,  the  highest  type  of  lawyer  will 
see  and  work  for  what  he  really  believes  to  be  just. 

6.  As  was  implied  in  the  first  point,  a  lawyer  must  be 
bold  and  courageous.  In  the  lives  of  the  greatest  lawyers, 
this  quality  is  almost  always  emphasized.  Not  only  is 
this  necessary  in  standing  for  decisions  that  he  really  be- 
lieves are  just,  but  the  business  of  the  lawyer  is  of  neces- 
sity a  sort  of  fighting  business.  He  must  be  ready  to 
meet  opposition ;  for  much  of  his  work  concerns  the  set- 
tling of  disputes  and  the  winning  out  against  strong  odds. 


148  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

Even  a  woman  lawyer  has  been  known  to  fight  and  win  a 
case  against  a  big  corporation,  a  case  of  such  importance 
as  to  put  the  corporation  out  of  business. 

Preparation 

The  first  class  lawyer  will  have  a  three-year  course  in 
a  law  school,  usually  preceded  by  a  college  course.  Young 
men  used  to  prepare  by  reading  and  working  in  some 
lawyer's  office,  or  by  reading  law  at  night  while  they 
worked  in  the  daytime  in  some  other  line.  These  meth- 
ods are  sometimes  used  now,  but  a  course  in  a  law  school, 
with  its  opportunities  of  instruction  from  eminent  men, 
and  of  practice  in  type  cases,  is  almost  essential  to  the 
highest  success.  In  either  case,  the  state  bar  examination 
must  be  passed  before  the  lawyer  is  allowed  to  practise. 

The  lawyer  must  have  a  vast  amount  of  general  in- 
formation;  he  must  know  the  history  and  principles  of 
law,  and  must  be  acquainted  with  economic  and  social 
conditions.  He  should  study  the  lives  of  great  lawyers 
to  learn  where  their  power  lay;  and  should  have  much 
training  in  order  to  develop  skill  in  debate,  and  in  pick- 
ing out  essential  points.  When  we  consider  that  the  study 
of  law  includes  civil,  criminal,  constitutional,  and  in- 
ternational law,  and  court  procedure,  we  can  easily  see 
why  all  this  means  years  of  preparation.  Many  lawyers 
today  are  specialists,  and  must  know  all  the  intricacies  of 
their  particular  branch.  For  instance,  the  patent  attorney 
must  be  prepared  to  consider  the  principles  of  mechanics, 
and  electricity,  besides  the  purely  legal  side  of  the  question. 

Opportunities  and  Disadvantages 

The  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  practicing  law  are 
so  closely  related  that  we  shall  consider  them  together. 
1.  After  the  expense  of  preparation,  one  must  still  have 


THE    PROFESSIONS 


149 


capital  enough  to  invest  in  the  necessary  books.  These 
are  high  priced  and  must  be  considered  an  expense  in 
addition  to  the  office  rent  which  will  seem  heavy  before 
the  practice  is  fairly  begun.  Both  of  these  expenses  may 
be  lessened  if  one  is  fortunate  enough  to  get  into  an  office 
with  an  older  lawyer. 

2.   Then  it  is  generally  admitted  that  the  profession  is 
very  much  overcrowded.      In  almost  every  city  there  are 
many    former   lawyers   engaged    in   some   other   business, 
particularly   in  real  estate  or  insurance.      The  start  is  a 
hard  struggle  and   if  for  any  reason  one  drops  out  for  a 
time  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  back  in  line.     It  is  nat- 
ural for  a  lawyer  to  turn  to  real  estate;  first,  because  his 
legal  training  has  made  him  familiar  with  the  laws  con- 
corning  property,  and  second,  because  it  is  a  business  which 
he  can  enter  without  much  capital.      But  the  fact  that  so 
many  lawyers  have  given  up  practicing  shows  that   their 
prospects  were  not  exceedingly  good.      Again,  in  connec- 
tion  with   this  same   point,   many   who   have   specialized 
have  found  that  there    is   not  the   opening   in   their   line 
that  they  had  expected.     For  instance,  most  of  the  bond 
companies   have   come   to   attend   to   many   details   them- 
selves and  to  turn  over  the  work  demanding  a  final  legal 
opinion   to  some  specialized  company  organized   for   this 
purpose.     The    Title   and    Trust   Companies   do    a   great 
deal  of  the  business  that  the  individual  lawyers  nsed  to 
do.      So  that  now   the   independent   lawyer  who  has  spe- 
cialized in  the  law  relating  to  stocks  and  bonds  finds  very 
little  to  do.     The  testimony  of  lawyers,   successful   and 
unsuccessful,  bears  out  the  idea  that  the  struggle  is  hard 
and  the  opportunities  comparatively  few. 

3.  But  there  is  another  side  to  the  disadvantage  just 
mentioned.  Success  in  law  does  not  depend  entirely  upon 
private   practice.     The  fact   that   much   law  business   is 


150  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

done  by  the  law  firms  and  that  the  corporations  are  inclined 
to  hire  their  own  lawyers  in  permanent  positions,  shows 
that  right  there  is  an  opportunity  for  the  exceptionally 
capable  man.  To  be  sure  he  must  first  prove  his  ability 
in  some  way  and  the  number  of  these  positions  is  limited. 
We  have  already  learned  in  studying  the  opportunities  in 
government  service,  that  many  young  'lawyers  who  have 
started  working  there  in  connection  with  the  patent  office, 
have  stepped  into  very  fine  positions  in  law  firms  of 
this  sort.  Probably  the  best  thing  for  a  young  man  is  to 
get  his  start  in  the  office  of  some  good  lawyer,  and  then 
to  keep  his  eyes  open  for  every  possible  opportunity. 
Sometimes  he  can  tide  over  the  hard  period  by  getting 
work  with  some  law  publishing  company.  One  young 
man  who  had  had  the  advantage  of  a  splendid  education 
and  introduction,  made  a  good  reputation  and  in  a  com- 
paratively short  time  was  appointed  as  a  lawyer  on  a 
railroad  commission  with  a  salary  of  $8000  a  year.  There 
are  always  opportunities  for  the  best  equipped  men. 

4.  Many  boys  are  attracted  to  the  law  because  of  the 
belief  that  it  leads  to  political  position.  This  is  partly 
true  although  success  in  politics  depends  much  upon 
diplomacy.  However,  the  knowledge  of  national  insti- 
tutions and  the  training  of  the  lawyer  tend  to  fit  him  for 
political  life  and  for  statesmanship.  Many  of  our  sena- 
tors and  governors  come  from  the  ranks  of  lawyers. 

5.  One  of  the  greatest  drawbacks  is  the  temptation  to 
give  up  one's  ideals  for  the  sake  of  position  or  money.  A 
prominent  judge  in  Chicago  said  that  he  did  not  want  his 
son  to  be  a  lawyer,  because  the  struggle  against  this 
temptation  was  too  great.  On  the  other  hand,  this  very 
condition  makes  it  possible  for  the  lawyer  to  stand  by 
the  highest  ideals.  If  his  motives  are  unselfish,  he  may 
look  upon  himself  as  the  defender  of  justice,  and  of  the 


THE    PROFESSIONS  151 

very  foundations  of  the  state.  He  has  an  unusual  op- 
portunity to  take  part  in  public  affairs.  He  becomes  a 
leader,  one  of  those  on  whom  the  reputation  of  the  state 
depends.  If  you  read  the  careers  of  our  greatest  lawyers, 
particularly  of  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  bench,  you  will 
tind  many  instances  where  a  clear  insight  into  the  justice 
of  the  case,  and  a  willingness  to  stand  by  conclusions  has, 
indeed,  brought  lawyers  through  deep  waters,  but  has 
accomplished  much  in  the  great  cause  of  bringing  justice 
between  man  and  man. 

6.  "While  there  is  much  drudgery  in  this  as  in  all  work, 
it  is  not  of  the  sort  that  wears  a  man  out  before  his  time. 
A  lawyer's  term  of  service  is  longer  than  that  of  many 
other  men.  If  he  has  had  successful  experience,  he  will 
be  able  to  give  clear-headed  advice  beyond  the  years  of 
many  men's  active  work. 

Women  in  the  Law 

Of  more  than  114,000  lawyers  in  the  United  States,  it  is 
estimated  that  over  1000  are  women.  Practically  all  the 
states  admit  women  to  the  bar  on  examination,  and  those 
that  do  not  must  recognize  the  diplomas  of  those  who  have 
been  accepted  in  other  states.  Certain  law  schools  will  not 
admit  women  students,  but  there  are  so  many  in  the 
country  that  will  do  so  that  women  have  ample  chance 
for  preparation.  But  a  woman  lawyer  has  even  a  harder 
struggle  than  a  man,  and  she  should  be  sure  that  she 
has  exceptional  ability  and  courage  before  undertaking 
this  profession.  There  are  certain  lines  in  which  women 
lawyers  may  be  of  great  value,  especially  in  cases  relat- 
ing to  children  and  women.  Judge  Ben  Lindsey  says  that 
women's  work  is  needed  in  court  where  the  troubles  of  chil- 
dren are  dealt  with.  Tn  the  Good  Housekeeping  Magazine 
for  October,  1915,  Dean  Ashley,  of  the  New  York  Uni- 


152  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

versity  Law  School,  to  which  women  students  are  admitted, 
is  reported  as  saying  that  he  "  finds  no  difference  between 
men  and  women  as  to  legal  aptitude."  So  with  this  testi- 
mony as  to  opportunity  and  ability,  there  seems  no  reason 
why  the  woman  who  feels  that  she  has  it  in  her  to  succeed 
should  not  undertake  the  study  of  law.  And  now  that 
women  are  being  granted  the  right  of  suffrage,  there  will 
be  more  and  more  opportunity  for  women  in  public  life 
and  along  with  that  a  somewhat  wider  plaee  in  the  prac- 
tice of  law.  There  is  still  a  good  deal  of  prejudice  against 
women  lawyers,  although  this  is  growing  less  and  less  every 

year. 

MEDICINE 

Robert  Louis  Stevenson  said,  "  The  physician  is  the 
flower  of  our  civilization."  After  we  have  studied  his 
achievements  and  possibilities,  1  think  you  will  agree 
that  this  is,  at  least,  often  the  ease.  All  kinds  of  people 
go  into  this  profession,  from  the  disreputable  quack  to  the 
man  who  combines  the  highest  specialized  training  with 
the  broadest  altruism ;  but  of  the  one  who  lives  up  to  an 
ideal,  we  may  say  that  Stevenson's  estimate  is  true.  Cer- 
tain it  is  that  the  object  of  the  profession  is  the  service 
of  humanity.  We  shall  examine  the  characteristics  that 
tend  to  qualify  a  man  for  this  high  type  of  medical  work; 
but  always  we  must  remember  that  there  is  great  variety  in 
the  many  divisions  of  work  to  be  considered  here.  One 
might  go  into  general  medicine,  into  surgery,  research 
work,  consultations,  or  specialties  of  countless  sorts. 
What,  then,  are  the  qualifications  that  belong  to  the  physi- 
cian's work  in  general  or  to  the  various  divisions  ? 

Qualifications 
'1.  The   physician    should   have   a   studious   mind.     As 
in  law,  so  here,  one  must  study  to  keep  up  to  date;  and 


THE    PROFESSIONS 


153 


perhaps  it  is  even  more  important  in  medicine,  as  this  sci- 
ence is  making  very  rapid  progress.  If  a  man  is  not 
willing  to  study  constantly,  he  would  better  not  be  a  doctor. 
Here  is  one  example  of  what  this  constant  study  may 
mean.  A  splendid  young  physician  chose  his  office  in  a 
building  apart  from  the  other  doctors  so  that  he  might 
spend  his  free  moments  in  reading  and  study  rather  than 
be  tempted  to  waste  them  in  gossip.  This  was  his  re- 
ward. Another  doctor's  patient  who  had  been  at  the 
point  of  death  was  recovering  when  very  serious  and 
baffling  complications  set  in.  The  young  doctor  was  called 
for  consultation.  In  his  recent  study  he  had  learned  what 
none  of  the  others  knew,  that  a  discovery  of  the  cause  and 
treatment  of  this  verv  trouble  had  just  been  made;  and 
by  means  of  this  knowledge  he  was  able  to  save  the  man's 
life.  Constantly  discoveries  are  being  made,  and  a  wide 
awake  doctor  will  not  be  a  week  or  a  day  behind  the 
times. 

2.  He  should  have  high  ideals.  Most  people  do  not 
care  to  trust  their  physical  well  being  to  a  man  who  has 
not  the  highest  standards  of  morals.  The  doctor  is  per- 
haps tempted  more  than  most  other  men  to  use  drugs  and 
strong  liquors;  he  can  obtain  these  when  others  are  pro- 
hibited, and  the  strain  of  his  work  makes  him  wish  for 
the  quieting  and  pleasing  effects  that  come  at  first.  But 
it  is  particularly  necessary  that  he  should  not  yield  to 
this  temptation,  as  he  must  constantly  advise  others 
against  it  and  advice  without  example  is  wreak.  Again 
he  is  often  tempted  to  make  light  of  or  at  least  not  to  con- 
demn certain  evils  for  the  sake  of  getting  more  practice. 
His  ideals  should  be  strong  enough  to  tide  him  over  these 
times  and  to  make  him  feel  always  that  high  standards  are 
worth  more  than  money. 

3.  He  should  have  a  pleasant,  cheerful  personality.     Dr. 


154  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

William  Osier  says,  "  The  basis  of  the  entire  profession  of 
medicine  is  faith  in  the  doctor."  Certain  it  is  that  if  he 
cannot  inspire  confidence,  all  the  scientific  equipment  of 
the  physician  will  not  much  avail.  The  cheerful  person- 
ality that  comes  partly  from  self-confidence  is  essential  to 
this.  Men  are  learning  more  and  more  the  importance  of 
mental  influence,  and  many  a  patient  has  been  brought  to 
recovery  by.  the  sympathetic  optimism  of  the  doctor. 

4.  Skill  in  manipulation  is  also  necessary.  We  think 
of  this  as  being  particularly  useful  to  the  surgeon  and  it 
is.  He  must  be  able  to  do  the  most  delicate  work  carefully 
and  quickly.  So  important  is  this  that  it  is  said  that  the 
expert  surgeon's  term  of  service  is  comparatively  short;  for 
it  takes  a  period  of  years  to  develop  the  highest  skill,  and 
after  a  rather  short  term  of  years  the  hand  begins  to 
lose  its  steadiness  and  his  efficiency  begins  to  wane.  But 
during  his  working  period  he  is  able  to  do  such  marvelous 
things  that  it  is  worth  all  that  it  costs.  Besides  this  a 
certain  skill  of  hand  is  needed  by  every  physician.  It 
is  necessary  in  giving  examination  and  in  various  kinds  of 
treatment. 

6.  He  must  have  courage.  While  knowledge  and  care 
can  protect  a  doctor  generally  from  contagious  disease,  he 
must  still  run  a  good  deal  of  risk.  The  American  Medical 
Society  has  laid  down  certain  principles  for  its  members, 
among  which  is  the  following:  "  When  an  epidemic  pre- 
vails, a  physician  must  continue  his  labors  for  the  allevia- 
tion of  suffering  people,  without  regard  to  the  risk  to  his 
own  health  or  life  or  to  financial  return."  You  have 
probably  read  how  bravely  in  the  great  war,  the  American 
doctors  have  faced  death  in  the  typhus  camps  in  Europe; 
and  how  many  sacrifices  were  made  in  the  work  of  ex- 
terminating yellow  fever  during  the  building  of  the  Pan- 
ama Canal. 


THE    PEOFESSIONS  155 

7.  He  should  have  health,  a  good  store  of  it,  to  with- 
stand the  strain  of  hard  work,  hard  hours,  and  exposure 
to  all  sorts  of  weather  and  to  infection. 

PREPARATION 

The  best  medical  schools  now  require  at  least  two  years 
of  college  work  for  entrance.  The  four  year  college 
course  is  recommended,  but  in  that  case,  with  proper 
choice  of  subjects  the  medical  course  may  be  completed 
in  three  years.  Otherwise  the  medical  course  is  four 
years  and  after  that  it  is  most  desirable  for  the  young 
doctor  to  have  at  least  two  years  as  an  interne  in  a  good 
hospital.  But  no  matter  what  his  training,  before  he 
has  a  license  to  practise,  the  physician  must  pass  a  rigid 
state  examination.  So  unless  a  young  man  can  afford  to 
give  about  eight  years  after  he  graduates  from  high  school, 
he  cannot  hope  for  the  greatest  success  as  a  doctor.  In 
preparation  for  his  specific  medical  training,  he  should 
have  thorough  work  in  English,  biology,  chemistry,  and 
physics,  besides  having  had  some  Latin,  German,  and 
French.  jNTot  only  must  knowledge  be  gained  but  skill 
must  be  developed.  The  scientific  training  gives  the 
power  of  accurate  observation,  and  of  classification  of  Je- 
suits ;  and  it  trains  the  hand  to  steady,  delicate  work. 

In  medicine  perhaps  more  than  in  any  other  line  it  is 
important  to  choose  the  right  school.  Medical  schools 
are  ranked  according  to  their  teaching  force,  equipment, 
and  standards,  and  a  doctor's  reputation  depends  a  good 
deal  upon  the  place  of  his  preparation. 

Hospital  training  is  being  more  emphasized,  physicians 
now  spending  from  one  to  three  or  more  years  as  hospital 
interne  or  as  visiting  surgeon.  In  Pennsylvania  a  doctor 
is  required  to  have  one  year  of  hospital  training  before  he 
is  allowed  to  take  the  state  examination  for  a  license  to 


150  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

practise.  After  the  hospital  work  is  completed,  a  large  pro 
portion  of  the  doctors  prefer  to  go  into  specialized  work. 
It  is  somewhat  less  of  a  strain  physically  and  also  it 
brings  larger  and  quicker  financial  returns.  lint  it  re- 
quires not  only  special  training,  but  also  a  few  years' 
experience  as  general  practitioner  before  narrowing  one's 
work  down  to  a  particular  line.  In  the  last  few  years  in 
this  country  there  have  grown  up  very  many  free  dis- 
pensaries which  furnish  doctors  the  opportunity  of  much 
general  experience  in  a  short  time.  But,  however  it  is 
managed,  this  profession  requires  a  longer  and  harder 
preparation  than  does  any  other  line  of  work. 

The  tendency  of  the  medical  profession  is  to  put  more 
and  more  emphasis  upon  the  prevention  of  sickness,  to 
educate  the  public  in  medical  matters,  and  to  influence 
sanitary  commissions  and  sanitary  legislation.  For  this 
reason  a  broad  cultural  training  is  essential.  While  this 
is  preliminary  to  actual  practice,  as  in  other  professions, 
the  preparation  is  never  ceasing.  A  physician  should  ally 
himself  with  medical  societies,  should  read  the  medical 
journals,  and  should  keep  up  in  every  way  with  the 
progress  of  his  profession. 

Opportunities  and  Disadvantages 

Like  that  of  law,  the  profession  of  medicine  is  over- 
crowded. For  our  population  of  100,000,000,  we  have 
151,132  doctors,  making  one  for  about  every  061  people. 
If  these  were  distributed  evenly,  and  the  number  of  gen- 
eral practitioners  and  specialists  were  proportioned  to  the 
population,  there  might  still  be  too  many,  but  this  is  not 
the  case.  A  very  important  point  for  the  young  doctor 
is  to  select  a  locality  where  his  services  are  needed. 

In  general  the  income  of  the  physician  is  low,  especially 
when  compared  with  the  capital  that  he  must  invest  for 


THE    PROFESSIONS  157 

his  education.  Various  figures  are  given  for  the  income 
of  the  average  American  physician,  varying  from  $660  to 
$900  a  year.  But  this  takes  into  account  the  most  un- 
successful and  those  who  have  had  very  meager  prepara- 
tion. Taking  it  for  granted  that  if  you  start  out  in  this 
line  you  will  get  the  best  training,  it  might  be  fairer 
to  look  at  the  report  made  by  Professor  Emmons  of  the 
Harvard  Medical  School.  In  a  table  showing  the  aver- 
age incomes  of  253  Harvard  Medical  School  graduates  for 
thirteen  years,  we  find  $900  given  at  the  end  of  the  sec- 
ond year.  By  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  year,  the  average 
annual  income  is  $4680.  This  is  much  better,  although 
it  is  nothing  like  the  income  of  the  very  successful  busi- 
ness man.  According  to  these  same  statistics,  it  is  even 
considerably  less  than  that  of  the  lawyer.  For  the  ex- 
pert specialist,  there  are  occasionally  very  high  fees,  but 
we  must  balance  with  this  the  fact  that  a  great  deal  of 
absolutely  free  work  is  done  and  the  cost  of  the  necessary 
instruments,  drugs,  and  office  equipment  and  other  ex- 
penses is  exceedingly  high.  In  most  cases  the  physician 
will  find  it  very  hard  to  collect  a  good  deal  of  his  money, 
and  unless  he  has  unusual  business  ability,  he  will  probably 
run  very  short. 

Another  disadvantage  from  the  financial  point  of  view 
is  that  the  more  successful  he  is  in  his  legitimate  work, 
the  fewer  patients  the  physician  will  have.  The  tendency 
of  the  medical  profession  at  present  is  to  put  the  emphasis 
on  the  prevention  of  disease.  If  a  doctor  conscientiously 
works  toward  this  end  and  succeeds  in  preventing  sickness 
his  work  will  be  likely  to  decrease.  On  the  other  hand, 
some  authorities  think  that  as  this  new  tendency  gains  more 
influence,  people  will  be  regularly  examined  and  physi- 
cians will  be  paid  for  preventive  as  well  as  curative  serv- 
ices.    Perhaps  part  of  the  doctor's  work  will  be  to  create  a 


158  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

sentiment  for  such  examinations.  In  one  of  our  largest 
state  universities  this  idea  has  been  put  into  practice. 
Students  may  go  to  the  infirmary  for  free  examination  at 
any  time,  and  they  are  greatly  encouraged  to  go  at  the 
indication  of  the  most  insignificant  symptom.  This  has 
already  lessened  illness  in  the  university.  The  recent 
examination  of  young  men  for  service  in  the  army  and 
navy  has  brought  to  light  many  beginnings  of  serious 
troubles  that  otherwise  would  probably  not  have  been  dis- 
covered until  they  had  gone  beyond  the  hope  of  cure.  So 
that  while  this  phase  of  the  physician's  duty  may  at  first 
seem  to  cut  down  his  source  of  income,  it  certainly  opens 
up  to  him  a  wide  field  of  usefulness. 

A  very  trying  and  exasperating  condition  is  the  neces- 
sity of  competing  with  fakes  and  quacks  of  all  kinds. 
A  reliable  physician  is  often  obliged  to  see  others  who  are 
not  playing  the  game  fairly,  win  over  him ;  and  he  is 
bound  to  stand  by  his  honest,  thorough-going  course  what- 
ever it  may  mean  to  him. 

If  the  difficulties  of  private  practice  seem  too  great  to 
the  really  capable  physician,  he  may  turn  to  the  many 
salaried  positions  that  are  open  to  him.  lie  may  be 
employed  by  a  life-insurance  company,  a  mining  company, 
a  railroad,  by  one  of  the  numerous  industrial  concerns, 
or  he  may  undertake  a  civil  service  or  public  health  posi- 
tion. If  in  addition  to  his  scientific  ability  he  is  a  good 
organizer,  he  might  do  well  in  institutional  work.  All  of 
these  lines  have  the  advantage  of  the  fixed  income. 

But  the  one  opportunity  that  to  the  high  class  doctor 
outweighs  all  the  disadvantages  is  that  he  is  in  a  position 
to  give  the  highest  kind  of  service  to  mankind.  Sick- 
ness is  a  great  drawback  to  progress,  and  countless  num- 
bers of  our  most  useful  citizens  are  cut  off  before  their 
work  is  finished.     In  this  country,   80  per  cent,   of  the 


THE    PROFESSIONS  159 

deaths  are  from  preventable  causes.  Wonderful  progress 
has  been  made  in  medicine  in  the  last  thirty  years ;  and  to 
the  open-minded,  able,  aggressive  physician  there  is  a 
chance  to  help  in  the  fight.  In  this  time,  the  horror  of 
diphtheria,  yellow  fever,  small  pox,  and  typhoid  has  been 
much  abated.  Methods  of  avoiding  and  conquering  the 
first  intrusion  of  tuberculosis  have  been  discovered.  But 
there  are  still  almost  incurable  deadly  diseases  to  be  over- 
come and  some  one  by  careful  research  work  is  going  to 
discover  the  method.  Even  with  the  present  knowledge, 
much  suffering  could  be  eliminated,  if  the  public  senti- 
ment were  aroused  and  the  right  legislation  induced. 
The  following  statements  by  Irving  Fisher,  the  economist, 
quoted  from  The  Profession  of  Medicine,  by  Arthur  B. 
Emmons,  M.D.,  may  help  to  emphasize  this  opportunity. 

"  The  great  preventable  wastes  in  this  world  are,  I  be- 
lieve, wastes  which  can  be  prevented  only,  or  chiefly,  by 
hygiene.  Crime,  vice,  insanity,  disease,  death,  and  pov- 
erty could  be  wonderfully  reduced  by  applying  hygienic 
knowledge,  even  the  little  already  available. 

"  The  medical  profession  is,  naturally,  the  body  of  men 
through  whom  this  waste  is  to  be  checked.  With  the  in- 
creased  knowledge  concerning  hygiene  and  the  rapidly  in- 
creasing interest  in  it,  the  medical  profession  has  an  op- 
portunity greater  than  ever  before.  Their  art  is  being  se- 
curely based  today  on  exact  science." 

Another  great  field  that  is  opening  up  is  that  of  the 
orthopaedic  surgeon  through  whose  skill  many  helpless, 
crippled  children  have  had  their  backs  and  limbs  straight- 
ened, so  that  they  are  now  able  to  walk.  Before  the  United 
States  entered  the  war,  there  were  in  our  country  less  than 
two  hundred  of  these  surgeons.  Within  a  year  there  was 
an  urgent  call  for  seven  hundred,  and  the  need  will  doubt- 
less grow.     It  was  the  orthopaedic  surgeons  who  made  it 


160  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

possible  for  such  a  large  percentage  of  wounded  soldiers 
to  get  back  to  the  trenches,  while  many  who  could  not 
get  back  were  still  made  fit  to  live  useful  lives. 

Weigh  this  opportunity  with  the  fact  that  the  average 
doctor  does  not  make  much  money,  and  the  pecuniary 
disadvantage  almost  disappears.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
the  doctor's  reward  is  in  general  very  slow  in  coming,  and 
not  exceedingly  large  when  it  does  come,  but  the  real  re- 
ward comes  from  the  interest  and  satisfaction  in  his  work. 
To  refer  again  to  Dr.  Emmons'  pamphlet,  which  is  a  col- 
lection of  letters  from  graduates  of  the  Harvard  Medical 
School,  the  testimony  of  these  graduates  agrees  in  that 
those  who  enter  medicine  for  the  sake  of  making  money  are 
seldom  satisfied. 

So  if  you  are  considering  entering  the  profession  of 
medicine,  it  is  not  any  more  necessary  to  consider  the 
question  of  your  fundamental  qualifications  than  it  is  to 
ask  yourself  whether  you  have  the  patience  and  can  obtain 
the  necessary  money  for  the  long  preparation,  and  whether 
you  have  the  spirit  to  work  hard  and  long  because  of  your 
interest  in  the  problem  and  in  humanity  without  much 
thought  of  the  financial  returns. 

Women  in  Medicine 

There  is  a  good  field  in  this  work  for  women  and  already 
there  have  been  many  remarkable  women  physicians. 
You  may  read  of  a  good  many  of  them  in  an  article  by 
Rose  Young  in  the  Good  Housekeeping  Magazine  for 
August,  1915.  One  of  the  most  interesting  is  Dr.  Rosalie 
Slaughter  Morton,  of  New  York,  who  is  a  surgeon  on 
the  staff  of  a  large  hospital,  and  besides  has  organized 
and  conducted  a  wide  campaign  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
creasing the  public  health. 

It  has  been  said  that  women  have  not  the  health,  the 


THE    PROFESSIONS  161 

skill,  the  personality  necessary  for  a  physician,  but  of 
late  years  they  have  proved  by  the  results  of  their  work 
that  this  is  not  the  case.  It  is  true  that  women  have  had 
great  difficulties  in  the  matter  of  preparation  and  they 
have  been  compelled  to  go  great  distances  and  to  be  con- 
tent with  training  short  of  the  best.  And  even  after  mak- 
ing the  effort  and  finishing  the  medical  course,  there  have 
been  very  few  hospitals  that  would  take  them  as  internes. 
However,  these  conditions  are  changing,  the  doors  of  the 
medical  schools  and  the  hospitals  are  opening  more  and 
more.  In  New  York  and  in  Chicago,  woman  is  gaining 
a  place  in  hospital  work.  But  if  she  has  the  qualities 
and  can  get  the  preparation,  what  about  her  opportunities  ? 
It  is  needless  to  say  that  they  are  not  so  good  as  are  those 
of  her  brother.  There  has  been  much  prejudice  against 
her  both  on  the  part  of  the  men  physicians  and  on  the 
part  of  patients,  both  men  and  women.  But  this  preju- 
dice is  fast  growing  less  and  less,  and  many  women  prefer 
the  services  of  a  woman  for  themselves  and  for  their 
children.  In  almost  all  lines,  women  have  the  reputation 
of  being  less  professional  than  men,  and  it  is  the  women 
themselves  who  will  have  to  prove  that  this  accusation  is 
not  true. 

Besides  private  practice,  women  doctors  find  good  op- 
portunities as  school  physicians,  in  child  welfare  work, 
in  women's  hospitals,  in  prisons,  and  other  institutions. 
So  that  if  a  woman  is  especially  interested  in  medicine 
or  surgery,  and  has  reason  to  think  that  she  is  qualified 
for  the  work,  there  is  no  cause  why  she  should  not  start 
out  and  devote  herself  to  it.  If  she  really  has  the  ability, 
she  will  probably  make  a  good  living,  and  more  than  this, 
she  may  find  opportunity  to  do  special  work  with 
women  and  children  more  successfully  than  the  man 
physician. 


162  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 


NURSING 

Nursing  is  an  occupation  in  which  there  are  many 
times  more  women  than  men.  According  to  the  Census 
Report  of  1910,  there  were  in  the  United  States  82,327 
nurses  and  of  these  76,508  were  women.  We  are 
sometimes  inclined  to  think  that  this  is  entirely  women's 
work,  but  the  5819  men  engaged  in  it  cannot  be  over- 
looked. There  are  cases  that  demand  more  physical 
strength  than  the  average  woman  has,  and  many  men 
prefer  to  have  a  man  nurse.  Especially  is  this  true  in 
institutions  that  are  particularly  for  men,  and  in  the 
case  of  men  who  must  travel  for  their  health  and  need  a 
nurse  companion.  But  ordinarily  it  is  the  woman  who 
has  the  nurse's  instinct  and  we  are  accustomed  to  think 
that  this  is  her  special  field.  It  is  hard  work  and  should 
not  be  undertaken  unless  she  is  sure  that  it  is  her  sphere, 
but  once  sure,  she  has  a  tremendously  fascinating  and  in- 
spiring field  ahead  of  her. 

The  prospective  nurse  is  confronted  by  a  more  definite 
set  of  qualifications  than  a  beginner  in  most  other  fields. 
She  must  have  splendid  health  before  she  can  enter  the 
hospital  for  training.  Her  work  is  hard  and  a  nervous 
strain,  but  she  has  the  advantage  of  knowing  just  how 
to  conserve  her  strength  and  to  take  care  of  her  health. 
Also,  especially  now  that  laws  regulating  the  hours  have 
been  passed,  her  very  training  is  conducive  to  health,  and 
most  girls  leave  the  hospital  in  a  better  physical  condition 
than  that  with  which  they  entered.  A  nurse  who  has  not 
her  nerves  under  perfect  control  is  very  hard  on  her 
patients,  but  a  nervous  temperament  may  help  her  in  that 
quick  feeling  and  seeing  what  to  do  which  is  a  valuable  as- 
set. 

Her  other  qualities  are  on  trial  during  her  six  months 


THE    PROFESSIONS 


163 


of  probation ;  for  she  is  not  really  accepted  until  she  has 
taken  that  time  to  show  what  she  is.  She  must  be  tactful 
and  patient  and  yet  masterful,  for  sick  people  are  very 
trying  and  unreasonable,  and  while  they  must  not  be  irri- 
tated it  takes  a  firm  hand  to  give  them  the  required  care. 
The  nurse  should  have  the  imagination  to  put  herself  in 
the  patient's  place  and  see  his  point  of  view,  and  at  the 
same  time  should  realize  that  not  only  has  she  been  taught 
how  to  care  for  him,  but  that  she  is  well  and  the  patient 
sick,  and  so  her  judgment  is  probably  better  than  his. 
To  be  able  to  adjust  herself  takes  a  fine  poise  which  is 
partly  natural,  partly  acquired  by  training,  but  the  girl 
must  be  sure  that  she  is  willing  to  forget  herself  and  her 
own  feelings  enough  to  learn   it. 

To  enter  the  best  hospitals  for  training  one  must  have 
been  graduated  from  high  school,  and  be  at  least  twenty, 
in  some  twenty -three,  years  of  age.  It  pays  to  go  to  the 
best  hospital  because  there  one  will  observe  the  work  of  the 
highest  grade  surgeons  and  physicians,  besides  being  as- 
sociated with  the  best  superintendents  and  nurses.  The 
course  generally  takes  three  years,  after  which  a  nurse  goes 
forth  full  fledged,  and  on  her  own  responsibility.  The 
usual  hospital  custom  is  that  the  nurse  while  in  training 
gets  her  room  and  board,  and  a  small  amount  of  money 
for  her  books  and  incidental  expenses. 

After  graduation,  she  may  do  private  nursing  for  which 
wshe  will  receive  about  thirty  dollars  a  week  with  room 
and  board.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  when 
she  is  not  "  on  a  case,"  her  pay  stops,  that  she  must  of 
necessity  take  vacations  without  pay,  and  she  may  have  to 
keep  a  room  and  pay  rent  for  it  all  the  time.  On  the  other 
hand  a  good  nurse  is  in  demand  and  she  is  not  likely  to 
be  obliged  to  have  many  idle  weeks. 

If  she  does  not  care  for  private  nursing  there  are  many 


164  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

other  positions  that  she  may  get.  In  the  cities  are 
visiting  nurses  who  are  called  to  homes  where  there  is 
sickness,  in  order  to  show  the  other  members  of  the 
family  how  to  care  for  the  patient,  and  to  give  suggestions 
as  to  diet,  fresh  air,  and  sanitary  conditions.  Nurses  are 
employed  by  many  large  industrial  concerns,  and  in  every 
good  sized  town  there  is  the  school  nurse.  Public  and 
private  institutions  have  their  nurses  and  here  there  is 
often  the  opportunity  to  work  up  to  an  executive  position. 
Also  many  appointments  in  hospitals  are  given  to  grad- 
uate nurses.  So  perhaps  here,  more  than  in  any  other 
line,  a  capable  girl  may  be  sure  of  a  good  opportun 
ity. 

It  would  be  trite  to  emphasize  the  satisfactions  of  her 
work  aside  from  the  financial  reward ;  in  very  few  places 
are  there  such  good  opportunities  for  serving  and  for 
seeing  the  results  of  one's  service.  For  the  girls  who 
will  earn  their  living  only  a  few  years  before  devoting 
themselves  to  homes  of  their  own,  this  work  is  a  most  ex- 
cellent preparation.  They  learn  the  first  principles  of  a 
healthful  diet/much  about  sanitation,  not  to  mention  their 
more  specialized  work  of  caring  for  the  sick  and  injured. 
They  learn  to  work  quickly  and  quietly,  to  keep  their 
poise  in  emergencies,  and  on  many  occasions  to  use  what 
originality  and  inventiveness  they  may  have.  In  times  of 
catastrophe  or  in  periods  of  war,  the  woman  trained  in 
nursing  finds  many  opportunities  for  service  and  may  be 
able  to  help  vitally  in  the  world's  great  need. 

DENTISTRY 

We  have  said  that  the  professional  people  serve  as  help- 
ers; and  from  our.  discussion  so  far  we  can  see  that  they 
are  not  only  helpers  of  individuals,  but  that  all  the  funda- 
mental industries  are  dependent  on  their  services.     Most 


THE    PROFESSIONS 


165 


industrial  concerns,  railroads,   and  institutions  have  not 
only  their  own  lawyers  but  also  their  own  doctors  and 
nurses.     The  dentist's  services  are  given  more  on  an  indi- 
vidual basis,  but  we  shall  discuss  his  work  next  because 
it  is  really  a  specialized  form  of  the  profession  of  medi- 
cine,   though    involving   slightly    different    qualifications, 
preparation,  and  opportunities.     Again  the  report  of  the 
United  States  Census  will  show  us  how  the  number  of 
dentists  is  increasing.     In   1890  there  were  17,498  den- 
tists; in  1900,  29,683;  and  in  1910,  39,997.     Plainly,  it 
is  becoming  one  of  the  big  professions.     In  the  early  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century,   dentistry   meant   simply   the 
extracting  of  teeth,  just  as  in  early  times  the  physician 
was  the  barber  and  cured  all  diseases  by  bleeding  the  pa- 
tient.    Dentistry    has    made    great    progress    since    that 
time.     As  in  medicine,  there  is  much  specializing.     Be- 
sides the  regular  dentist  who  does  the  mechanical  work 
of  filling  teeth,  there  is  in  the  big  cities  the  man  who  does 
nothing  but  extract  teeth,  the  man  who  in  his  laboratory 
makes  false  teeth  and  plates,  and  the  man  who  devotes  his 
attention  to  treating  mouth   diseases,   such   as  pyorrhea. 
Diseases  of  the  teeth  and  mouth  have  been  found  to  ac- 
count for  much  suffering  in  all  parts  of  the  body;  and 
the  dentist  is  very  often  the  one  who  discovers  the  trouble. 

Qualifications 

1.  First  of  all  the  dentist  must  have  mechanical  skill, 
that  is,  he  must  be  deft  in  using  his  hands.  After  all,  the 
work  of  the  dentist  is  largely  mechanical.  It  seldom,  like 
that  of  the  physician,  depends  upon  giving  the  right  pre- 
scription, but  rather  upon  doing  a  neat,  careful,  efficient 
piece  of  handiwork. 

2.  Along  with  this  he  should  be  somewhat  inventive; 
for  there  will  be  unusual  cases  that  would  be  baffling  to 


166  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

a  man  with  110  ingenuity.  A  successful  young  dentist 
came  upon  a  puzzling  condition  in  his  work;  lie  was  inven- 
tive enough  to  figure  a  way  out  of  the  difficulty.  When 
he  had  completed  the  task,  he  said  to  his  patient,  "Well, 
that  was  hard,  hut.  it  is  working  out  the  hard  problems  that 
makes  the  easy  things  easy."  This  man  had  inventive- 
ness, manual  skill,  and  was  headed  in  the  right  direction 
for  unusual  success. 

3.  lie  and  his  office  must  be  immaculate.  Many  den- 
tists, in  order  to  emphasize  this  point,  dress  entirely  in 
spotless  white  even  to  their  shoes.  His  hands  must  he 
kept  perfectly  and  all  his  instruments  and  surroundings 
absolutely  clean,  otherwise  refined  and  particular  people 
will  not  patronize  him.  And  not  only  that;  back  of 
this  appearance  is  the  principle  of  antiseptic  methods. 
Dentistry  is  in  line  with  many  other  departments  of 
work  today  in  fighting  bacteria  which  bring  infection  and 
much  trouble. 

4.  He  should  have  a  certain  amount  of  money  to  draw  on 
when  he  begins;  for  a  dentist's  equipment  is  expensive. 
In  fitting  up  his  office,  he  must  have  an  electrical  machine, 
a  dental  chair,  besides  his  instruments  and  other  furni- 
ture. It  is  estimated  that  this  will  cost  him  about  $500 
or  $1000  according  to  the  standard  which  he  must  main- 
tain. His  success  may  depend  a  good  deal  upon  the 
appearance  of  his  office.  One  young  man  was  fortunate 
in  having  a  suite  of  rooms  furnished  and  equipped  for  him 
by  his  father,  and  was  thus  able  to  get  a  good  start  in  a 
larger  city  and  more  prosperous  neighborhood  than  would 
otherwise  have  been  possible. 

Preparation 

The  dentist,  must  have  a  three  or  four  years'  course 
in  a  dental  school.     These  do  not  have  such  high  entrance 


THE    PROFESSIONS 


167 


requirements  as  do  the  medical  schools.  A  high  school 
education  is  expected,  but  a  college  course  is  not  required. 
Chemistry,  physics,  and  manual  training  taken  in  the 
high  school  would  be  a  help.  More  and  more  a  certain 
amount  of  medical  work  is  required;  but  this  instruction 
is  usually  given  while  in  the  dental  school.  Even  now 
in  obscure  neighborhoods  or  among  ignorant  people,  a 
purely  mechanical  dentist  may  make  a  living,  but  an 
ambitious  man  will  want  a  good  scientific  training  in 
order  to  keep  up  with  the  leaders  of  his  profession. 

Opportunities 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  work  of  the  dentist  is  in- 
creasing. People  are  waking  up  to  the  necessity  of  car- 
ing for  their  teeth.  The  most  careful  people  go  to  the 
dentist  twice  a  year  so  that  the  trouble  may  be  caught 
in  time  to  save  their  teeth.  Besides  this  doctors  are- 
sending  their  patients  to  the  dentists,  because  they  are  con- 
tinually finding  troubles  that  are  caused  by  the  teeth. 
Practically  every  one  visits  the  dentist  sooner  or  later. 
Even  those  people  who  refuse  to  consult,  the  regular  physi- 
cian on  account  of  some  opposing  system  or  cult,  have  not 
yet  rejected  the  dentist  or  found  a  substitute  for  him. 
Tn  many  places  dentists  are  hired  to  examine  all  school 
children.  And  so  while  his  work  is  increasing,  it  seems 
likely  that  it  will  increase  for  some  time  to  come. 

As  to  remuneration,  it  is  said  that  within  five  years  a 
dentist  should  be  making  $1200  a  year.  Of  course  this 
depends  largely  upon  his  choice  of  location.  One  young 
man  who  went  to  a  town  in  the  Canadian  Northwest,  where 
he  had  little  competition,  had  in  that  length  of  time  built 
up  a  practice  of  $10,000  a  year. 

The  dentist  has  the  advantage  of  numberless  inventions 
that  help  him  to  perfect  his  work,  so  much  so  that  some 


1G8  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

people  think  that  the  limit  of  possibilities  in  that  line  has 
been  reached.  Whether  or  not  this  be  so  it  looks  as  if  the 
future  development  of  the  dentist  would  be  more  along  the 
line  of  a  more  thorough  scientific  basis  for  his  work.  And 
in  this  way  another  disadvantage  may  be  overcome.  It 
must  be  confessed  that  in  general  a  dentist  has  not  quite  the 
same  standing  as  that  enjoyed  by  the  men  in  the  other  pro- 
fessions, a  condition  that  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that 
he  is  allowed  to  practise  with  less  preparation.  His  sta- 
tus is  already  improving  and  is  likely  to  become  steadily 
better. 

While  the  boy  with  mechanical  ability  might  go  into  a 
trade,  dentistry  would  appeal  to  the  one  who  wanted  to 
come  into  more  personal  contact  with  people.  Along  wTith 
medicine,  it  appeals  to  the  desire  to  relieve  human  suf- 
fering while  it  escapes  the  disadvantage  of  irregular  hours 
and  being  called  out  at  night,  and  as  one  dentist  said  it 
does  not  bring  the  responsibility  of  life  or  death,  a  thing 
that  some  people  are  not  willing  to  face. 

As  to  the  opportunities  for  women  in  this  work,  they 
are  fairly  promising.  A  woman  would  require  the  same 
qualities,  preparation,  and  equipment  as  would  a  man. 
There  are  a  great  many  women  dentists  who  are  doing  suc- 
cessful work ;  but  they  must  remember  that  it  is  necessary 
for  them  to  keep  a  steady  nerve  and  hand.  Dentistry  does 
not  offer  much  of  the  specialized  work  particularly  adapted 
to  women.  However,  women  seem  usually  more  than  men 
to  be  fitted  for  work  with  children,  and  more  and  more 
attention  is  being  given  to  the  teeth  of  children  before  they 
begin  to  "  ache,"  in  order  to  avoid  real  trouble  later.  In 
this  line  a  good  many  women  have  specialized. 


THE    PROFESSIONS  169. 


EXERCISES 


1.  What  is  the  distinction  between  a  professional  and  an  amateur? 
What  do  we  mean  by  saying  that  a  certain  occupation  has  become  a 
profession?  What  do  we  mean  by  saying  that  certain  people  have  a 
professional  attitude  toward  their  work,  while  others  have  not? 

2.  What  do  you  understand  by  a  "starvation  period"? 

3.  Both  doctors  and  lawyers  have  an  opportunity  either  to  do 
much  to  help  the  immigrants  during  their  first  years  in  this  country, 
or  to  take  unfair  advantage  of  them.     Explain  how. 

4.  Mention  ten  circumstances  in  which  a  man  might  need  a  law- 
yer's advice. 

5.  What  do  you  understand  by  "  economic  and  social  "  conditions? 
G.  Explain  why  lawyers  generally  have  large  libraries. 

7.  What  is  the  work  of  a  patent  attorney? 

8.  Write  a  theme  on  the  following  subject:  "Why  Lawyer 
Jones  should  have  tried  some  other  occupation." 

9.  Find  out  about  the  work  of  Dr.  Wilfred  Grenfell. 

10.  What  is  meant  by  research  work  ?  Where  is  that  sort  of  work 
going  on?  What  are  some  of  the  things  that  the  doctors  are  trying 
to  learn?     What  is  vivisection?     Give  arguments  for  and  against  it. 

11.  Give  instances  in  which  doctors  have  shown  the  elements  of 
heroism. 

12.  Make  a  list  of  medical  schools.  Find  out  about  the  require- 
ment for  entrance  to  any  one  of  them.  The  requirements  for  gradua- 
tion.    What  is  its  standing  in  the  medical  world? 

13.  Find  out  about  the  new  military  training  schools  for  nurses. 

14.  Which  do  you  think  make  better  nurses,  men  or  women?    Why? 

15.  Send  for  the  bulletins  of  five  training  schools  for  nurses.  Com- 
pare the  entrance  requirements  and  the  expense  of  training. 

16.  Describe  a  girl  who  you  think  would  make  an  ideal  nurse. 

17.  What  materials  that  the  dentist  uses  were  hard  to  get  after  the 
war  began? 

18.  Take  one  of  the  four  professions;  law,  medicine,  nursing,  or 
dentistry,  and  discuss  the  qualities  and  preparation  necessary  in  the 
boy  or  girl  who  plans  to  undertake  it.  Be  specific  as  to  the  school 
to  be  attended,  and  the  qualifications  of  one  particular  individual. 

19.  Explain  how  each  one  of  the  professions  is  useful  in  war  time. 

20.  Is  there  any  reason  why  a  girl  should  not  undertake  any  one 
of  these? 


170  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 


REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Emmons,  Arthur  B  The  Profession  of  Medicine.  Harvard  Uni- 
versity Press,  1017 

Allex,  Frederick  J.  The  Law  as  a  Vocation.  Tlie  Vocation  Bu- 
reau of  Boston.  1015. 

Principles  of  Medical  Ethics.  American  Medical  Association  Press, 
1912. 

Morely,  Edith.     Women  Workers  in  Seven  Professions. 

Lewis,  William  Draper.     Great  American  Lawyers. 

Medical  Education  in  the  United  States  and  Canada.  Carnegie  Foun- 
dation for  the  Advancement  of  Teaching. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  PROFESSIONS 

(Continued) 
TEACHING 

Another  large  professional  field  with  which  you  are  all- 
familiar  is  that  of  teaching.  In  fact,  in  numbers,  it  is 
the  largest  of  the  professions.  The  Census  Report  shows 
478,027  women  and  121,210  men  engaged  in  the  work  of 
teaching;  and  this  is  besides  the  15,008  college  professors. 
Teaching  is  gaining  more  and  more  of  professional  dignity, 
and  we  can  see  how  it  is  very  vitally  necessary  in  every 
line.  In  each  occupation  we  have  discussed  the  necessity 
of  preparation,  and  this  depends  upon  teaching  of  some 
sortr  While  this  instruction  has  in  the  past  been  given 
—-largely  by  older  men  in  the  business,  more  and  more  it  is 
being  taken  into  public  schools,  special  schools,  and  the 
universities  A  good  teacher  requires  special  abilities 
and  training,  and  some  of  the  best  informed  people  are  not 
able  to  impart  their  knowledge. 

Qualifications 

1.  As  in  the  other  professions,  an  inclination  towards 
study  is  essential.  It  is  essential  because  a  large  part  of 
the  teacher's  work  consists  in  inspiring  others  to  study, 
and  to  do  this,  lie  must  have  enthusiasm  for  it  himself. 
Again,  study  is  essential  because  in  teaching,  as  in  other 
lines  of  work  in  these  days,  there  is  continued  progress.     A 

171 


172  •  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

good  teacher  will  be  constantly  reading  and  studying  to 
keep  pace  with  the  advance  that  is  being  made  all  over  the 
country.  And  third,  this  love  of  study  is  essential  be- 
cause perhaps  the  first  requisite  of  a  teacher  is  that  he 
should  know  everything  possible  concerning  the  subject 
matter  that  he  is  to  teach.  He  should  have  a  far  wider 
knowledge  than  merely  that  which  he  wishes  to  impart  to 
his  pupils.  The  day  is  past  when  the  teacher  can  prepare 
in  one  evening  what  he  intends  to  teach  the  next  day.  So 
consider  this  side  of  the  question  carefully  before  you  de- 
cide that  you  will  teach  because  teaching  is  a  "  snap " 
with  short  hours  and  little  work. 

2.  In  teaching  one  deals  with  people  rather  than  with 
things  and  one  must  be  able  to  get  along  easily  with  others, 
especially  with  children  or  young  people.  He  must  be 
interested  enough  in  young  people  so  that  he  will  not  be 
annoyed  by  the  traits  that  are  characteristic  of  youth. 
Without  this  interest  no  one  has  a  right  to  teach ;  but  per- 
haps you  cannot  test  yourself  for  this  until  you  yourself 
are  older.  If,  however,  you  should  decide  to  teach,  and 
at  any  subsequent  time  find  that  you  are  losing  sympa- 
thy with  youth,  you  cannot  change  your  profession  too 
soon. 

3.  One  must  be  able  to  impart  knowledge  to  others. 
How  often  we  hear  the  statement,  "  So  and  so  knows  his 
subject  perfectly,  but  he  does  not  know  how  to  explain 
it  or  make  it  interesting."  This  power  may  be  a  natural 
gift  and  to  a  great  extent  it  may  be  learned  and  culti- 
vated. 

4.  There  should  be  the  power  to  control  people  reason- 
ably; that  is,  to  be  what  we  ordinarily  call  a  good  dis- 
ciplinarian. The  teacher  should  be  able  to  get  people 
to  do  the  right  thing  without  the  use  of  force.  A  fine 
young  man  who  had  all  the  other  qualifications  of  a  good 


THE    PROFESSIONS 


173 


teacher,  failed  utterly  because  lie  could  not  make  the  boys 
in  his  class  do  what  he  told  them  to  do.  This  is  largely  an 
inherent  quality ;  but  much  is  learned  by  experience. 

5.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  a  teacher  live  up 
to  a  high  moral  standard.  Not  only  will  the  community 
demand  this,  but  in  his  position  his  influence  is  so  im- 
portant that  he  will  have  to  be  willing  to  be  even  stricter 
with  himself  than  he  might  otherwise   deem  necessary. 

Preparation 

The  standard  of  the  necessary  preparation  for  a  teacher 
is  ccttins;  higher  everv  vear.  Requirements  differ,  but 
in  most  states  now  the  minimum  is  a  high  school  and  nor- 
mal school  training  for  the  grade  teacher,  college  training 
for  the  high  school  teacher  and  two  or  three  years  beyond 
that  for  the  normal  school  or  college  teacher.  For  public 
school  work,  one  must  obtain  a  certificate  according  to 
the  law  of  his  particular  state.  In  many  states,  this  is 
secured  by  taking  an  examination,  in  others  it  is  given  on 
the  basis  of  adequate  preparation,  but  a  certain  amount 
of  reading  must  be  done  in  order  to  hold  it  from  year  to 
year. 

There  is  much  specializing  in  school  work  and  that 
often  means  special  training.  There  are  teachers  of  do- 
mestic science,  manual-training,  drawing,  music,  physical 
training,  and  public  speaking,  and  these  should  each  have 
two  or  three  years  in  his  particular  line.  In  the  better 
high  schools  teachers  usually  have  just  one  subject  to  teach, 
so  that  while  in  college,  one  should  discover,  if  possible, 
his  particular  interest  and  should  select  as  many  courses  as 
possible  along  that  line.  Besides  this,  all  teachers  must 
have  a  certain  amount  of  work  in  the  science,  methods,  and 
history  of  education. 

If  you  intend  to  be  a  college  professor,  you  will  work 


174  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

for  three  years  after  graduation  on  your  specialty  and 
get  the  degree  of  doctor  of  philosophy. 

In  addition  to  all  this  preliminary  study  a  teacher 
must  necessarily  devote  much  time  throughout  his  career 
to  independent  reading  and  study  in  order  to  keep  up-to- 
date.  He  must  read  professional  hooks  recommended  by 
his  "  reading-circle,"  as  well  as  the  educational  periodicals. 
He  must  attend  teachers'  institutes  and  summer  schools, 
and  he  should  plan,  if  possible,  to  spend  some  period  in 
study  abroad. 

Opportunities 

The  income  of  teachers  is  not  large.  In  many  states 
men  are  paid  more  than  women  because  there  are  fewer  of 
the  desired  type  to  be  had.  If  a  man  is  successful,  he  can 
be  reasonably  sure  of  getting  a  salary  of  $1500  or  $1800 
in  a  few  years.  A  woman,  on  the  other  hand,  will  work 
much  longer  before  she  gets  $1000,  while  positions  that 
pay  more  than  that  are  very  few  outside  of  the  large 
cities.  The  states  of  California  and  Xew  York  furnish 
notable  exceptions  to  this  statement  in  regard  to  differ- 
ences in  salaries.  In  both  cases,  the  state  laws  forbid  dis- 
crimination in  favor  of  men.  If  one  has  more  executive 
ability,  and  becomes  a  principal  or  superintendent,  he  may 
get  from  $2000  to  $5000  according  to  the  size  of  the  city 
where  he  works.  A  college  professor  usually  begins  as 
an  instructor  at  about  $1000  or  $1200.  His  rise  is  slow, 
but  as  head  of  a  department  in  a  university  he  may  get 
$3000  or  $4000  or  more.  For  this  position  he  must  be  es- 
sentially a  scholarly  person.  The  highest  paid  positions 
are  president  of  a  university,  superintendent  of  schools  in  a 
large  city,  state  superintendent  of  schools,  commissioner  of 
education.  A  number  of  the  states  and  large  cities  have 
provisions  by  which  teachers  who  have  served  for  twenty- 


THE    PROFESSIONS  175 

five  or  thirty  years  may  receive  a  pension  of  $400  or  more 
a  year  for  the  rest  of  their  lives. 

You  can  see  that  the  average  man  teacher  of  ability 
gets  a  much  smaller  income  than  the  business  man.  Fre- 
quently one  hears  a  business  man  say :  "  T  am  sorry  for 
Mr.  S.  How  can  he  support  his  family  on  such  a  salary  \  ' 
And  Mr.  S.  is  probably  a  college  professor  or  a  super- 
intendent receiving  a  salary  of  from  two  to  three  thou- 
sand dollars.  So  according  to  the  general  point  of  view, 
a  man  must  go  into  teaching  from  some  motive  other  than 
that  of  making  money.  What  other  motives  and  what 
other  rewards  are  there  ?  If  he  is  the  intellectual  type 
of  man  he  has  here  the  best  possible  chance  of  satisfying 
his  inclinations.  His  daily  duty  consists  largely  of  read- 
ing and  study,  the  things  that  he  likes  most  to  do.  And 
there  can  be  no  greater  privilege  than  having  one's  duty 
and  pleasure  coincide. 

Then  there  is  the  pleasure  of  being  constantly  in  con- 
tact with  children  and  young  people.  This  keeps  one 
young  and  alive  and  prevents  him  from  getting  sour. 

But  perhaps  the  greatest  advantage  is  that  of  social 
service.  The  right  kind  of  teacher  is  likely  to  influence 
for  good  many  young  people,  and  he  also  has  the  oppor- 
tunity to  help  the  community  to  higher  standards.  Ideals 
of  education  are  constantly  changing  and  the  teacher  may 
have  his  part  in  working  out  the  best  system  for  the  com- 
ing generation.  In  this  there  is  both  the  fascination  of 
grappling  with  a  big  problem  that  is  worth  solving  and 
the  joy  of  feeling  that  vour  work  is  of  some  benefit  to  the 
country. 

As  to  the  room  in  this  field,  the  following  is  quoted  from 
the  president  of  a  normal  school.  "  Good  teachers  are 
scarce.  j\Jeu  especially  are  wanted  as  principals  and  sup- 
erintendents,   as    instructors    in   high   schools    in    natural 


176  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

science,  mathematics,  history,  economics,  and  commercial 
branches,  and  especially  to  teach  manual  training  and  agri- 
culture in  our  new  agricultural  high  schools."  The  war 
lias  caused  a  scarcity  of  teachers  so  that  for  ten  years  or 
more  there  will  be  unusual  openings.  Inexperienced 
teachers  have  filled  positions  for  which  they  would  not  have 
been  accepted  before  this  need  came,  while  teachers  who 
had  retired  have  been  urged  to  return  to  the  work. 

In  this  day  of  special  education  for  almost  every  line 
of  work,  there  is  an  increased  demand  for  instructors.  For 
one  well  trained  in  one  of  the  occupations  and  gifted  in 
the  art  of  instruction,  there  is  a  great  opportunity.  When 
we  consider  the  army  and  navy  training  schools,  the 
schools  of  agriculture,  of  mining,  and  of  commerce,  the 
technical  schools  for  the  builder,  the  architect,  and  the  en- 
gineer; the  law,  medical,  and  theological  schools,  not  to 
mention  library,  physical  culture,  musical,  and  innumer- 
able other  courses,  we  see  what  a  broad  field  there  is  for 
those  who  are  interested  in  this  side  of  an  occupation. 

A  great  disadvantage  is  that  teaching  is  nervous  work 
and  more  wearing  than  it  would  seem.  Though  the  hours 
are  seemingly  short,  the  work  is,  nevertheless,  hard  and 
statistics  show  that  many  teachers  break  down  under  the 
strain  of  discipline.  Again,  a  successful  teacher  will  do 
a  good  deal  of  night  work  which,  after  a  day  in  school,  is 
hard.  This  side  of  teaching  should  be  considered  before 
one  decides  to  undertake  it. 

The  standard  of  teaching  as  a  profession  has  unfor- 
tunately been  lowered  to  some  extent  by  men  who  have 
gone  into  it  as  a  stepping  stone  to  some  other  profession  or 
because  they  considered  it  an  easy  task.  But  the  standard 
is  rising  every  year,  and  the  realization  of  the  importance 
of  making  teaching  a  high  grade  profession  is  an  incentive 
to  many  first  class  men.     The  necessity  for  schools  must 


THE    PROFESSIONS  177 

increase  as  our  country  grows.  A  teacher  has  the  satis- 
faction of  feeling  that  he  is  engaged  in  a  vital,  growing 
occupation. 

As  to  the  women,  we  have  already  spoken  of  the  number 
who  go  into  this  work.  They  will  always  be  needed,  espe- 
cially in  teaching  the  younger  children.  Many  women  of 
executive  ability  become  principals  especially  of  the  grade 
schools.  In  the  larger  cities  there  is  a  tendency  to  have 
a  woman  dean  for  the  girls  in  each  high  school.  One  field 
for  women  teachers  is  rapidly  growing  —  the  work  in 
domestic  arts  and  science.  Besides  the  mere  teaching 
there  is  here  much  allied  work.  For  instance,  after  we 
entered  the  world  war,  the  domestic  science  teachers  in 
the  state  universities,  in  the  normal  schools,  and  in  the 
high  schools,  were  called  upon  to  help  in  the  great  prob- 
lems of  food  conservation.  That  special  work  leads  into 
many  avenues  of  usefulness.  Then  there  are  college  posi- 
tions of  an  advisory  and  executive  sort  for  women  of  abil- 
ity. Many  women  also  are  engaged  in  private  teaching  of 
one  sort  or  another.  On  the  whole,  there  is  scarcely  any 
work  for  women  in  which  the  surroundings  are  pleasanter, 
or  which  demands  higher  pay. 

JOURNALISM 

We  shall  consider,  in  this  division,  journalism,  and  al- 
lied professions,  the  daily  newspaper,  magazine  writing, 
and  the  authorship  of  books.  The  development  in  these 
lines  has  kept  pace  with  that  of  other  occupations  in  mod- 
ern times.  A  newspaper  establishment  has  all  the  ele- 
ments of  a  great  manufacturing  plant ;  there  is  the  commer- 
cial department  with  its  business  manager,  salesmen,  and 
office  force ;  there  is  the  mechanical  side  with  its  composi- 
tors, its  machine  operators,  its  stereotypers,  its  pressmen, 


1*8  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

machinists,  foremen,  and  superintendent;  and  lastly  there 
is  the  editorial  department.  The  printing  side  belongs  to 
the  manufacturing  groups,  the  business  side  to  the  com- 
mercial group,  but  the  editorial  department  does  work  that 
is  particularly  professional.  When  we  consider  that  the 
success  of  many  enterprises  depends  upon  the  attitude  of 
the  newspapers,  that  many  occupations  have  their  own 
trade  magazines,  and  that  a  large  part  of  instruction  must 
come  from  books,  we  see  how  important  journalism  and 
writing  are  to  our  fundamental  industries. 

There  is  at  the  head  of  the  organization  of  any  news- 
paper the  editor-in-chief  and  under  him,  editorial  writers, 
the  managing  editor,  the  city  editor,  the  night  city  editor, 
the  telegraph  editor,  besides  many  special  editors  for  the 
sporting,  dramatic,  society  news.  Besides  these,  there  are 
a  great  number  of  reporters,  correspondents,  and  copy- 
readers.  This  does  not  include  all  the  people  engaged  in 
the  newspaper  business,  but  it  may  give  you  some  idea  of 
the  immensity  of  it. 

Qualifications 

1.  One  should  have  the  ability  to  write,  to  express  what 
he  sees  and  hears  in  words  so  that  it  will  be  clear  and 
interesting  to  others.  While  training  and  practice  help 
much  in  the  form  and  ease  with  which  one  writes,  there 
is  a  great  difference  in  natural  ability.  The  boy  or  girl 
who  has  great  difficulty  in  expressing  his  thoughts,  who 
hates  to  write  and  can  never  find  the  right  word,  probably 
has  not  this  native  ability,  and  any  amount  of  interest 
in  the  excitement  of  newspaper  work  will  not  make  up 
for  the  lack. 

2.  He  should  be  a  quick  thinker  and  quick  in  his  move- 
ments. Very  shortly  after  the  reporter  finds  his  news, 
he  must  have  his  report   or   "  story  ':    ready   to  be   pre- 


THE    PKOFESSIONS 


179 


pared  for  the  press.  There  is  no  time  for  laborious  plan- 
ning or  slow  work.  After  it  leaves  his  hands,  the  editor 
and  the  copy-reader  must  be  just  as  quick.  It  is  neces- 
sary to  see  at  a  glance  just  what  corrections  should  be 
made,  what  should  be  omitted,  changed,  or  emphasized. 
Sometimes  important  news  for  the  morning  paper  comes  in 
at  about  midnight,  and  then  there  is  a  masterful  rushing 
of  operations,  in  which  there  is  room  only  for  the  quick- 
est worker.  In  writing  for  magazines  and  books,  this 
quality  is  not  so  important. 

3.  Along  with  quickness  there  is  need  for  absolute 
accuracy.  This  is  a  trait  that  may  be  cultivated  if  you 
are  interested  enough  to  feel  its  importance.  The  re- 
porter's work  should  be  free  from  mistakes  in  spelling, 
punctuation,  and  grammar,  but  the  copy-reader  must  be 
ready  to  correct  any  errors  that  the  writer  has  made,  and 
the  proof  reader  to  see  all  slips  made  in  the  printing. 
Then  the  reporter  must  be  accurate  in  his  stories,  as 
they  are  called.  He  may  make  serious  trouble  by  get- 
ting some  one's  initials  wrong,  or  by  mistaking  dates,  or 
figures.  His  superiors  are  not  likely  to  have  long  con- 
tinued patience  with  inaccuracies.  This  may  not  seem 
so  necessary  when  you  consider  the  exaggerations  often 
found  in  papers,  but  it  is  demanded  of  the  reporter  that 
he  state  facts.     Embellishments  sometimes  come  later. 

4.  One  who  is  in  the  reporting  side  of  the  business 
must  be  able  to  meet  people  tactfully.  He  is  obliged  to 
talk  with  people  of  all  positions  and  of  all  dispositions. 
His  object  is  to  gain  information  from  these  people,  and 
he  must  be  able  to  approach  them  so  as  not  to  antagonize 
them,  and  to  ask  questions  that  will  elicit  the  facts  that  he 
is  after,  no  matter  how  confused  or  uninterested  the  per- 
son is. 

5.  The  journalist  must  be  courageous.     We  shall  dis- 


180  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

cuss  later  how  he  often  is  tempted  to  cater  to  business  or 
individual  interests  to  the  detriment  of  the  community 
and  how  such  adjustments  require  a  man  of  good  judg- 
ment and  courage.  This  matter  lies  largely  with  the  edi- 
tors, although  the  reporter  has  some  minor  questions  to 
decide. 

Preparation 

We  are  finding  out  that  almost  every  line  of  business  is 
demanding  trained  men.  In  just  recent  years  this  has 
been  true  of  journalism.  In  mcst  universities,  courses 
are  now  given  in  newspaper  writing  and  editing.  The 
technical  marks  for  proof  reading  and  the  regulation  form 
for  the  reporter's  story  must  be  learned.  After  the 
technical  form  has  been  mastered,  even  gifted  writers 
need  much  practice  in  order  to  bring  their  style  to  its 
best.  The  help  of  experienced  teachers  in  giving  cor- 
rections  and   suggestions   is  most  valuable. 

Then  besides  the  special  journalistic  courses,  the 
broader  the  education  that  a  man  has  the  better  the  work 
that  he  will  do.  Journalism  is  becoming  a  profession 
and  those  who  go  into  it  would  do  well  to  have  a  college 
education. 

Students  sometimes  earn  their  way  through  college  by 
reporting,  and  the  rapidity  with  which  their  class  work  in 
composition  improves,  shows  what  a  large  part  practice  has 
in  training.  There  is  likely  to  be  a  constant  improvement 
in  the  literary  style  of  one  who  is  doing  much  writing. 
Newspaper  work  gives  training  particularly  in  writing  that 
is  clear-cut,  brief,  and  to  the  point.  Magazine  work  calls 
for  writing  of  a  more  finished  sort,  but  in  all  waiting  for 
publication  improvement  comes  through  practice. 

Many  eminent  writers  have  recommended  reading  much 
from  the  works  of  standard  authors  so  as  to  become  accus- 


THE    PROFESSIONS 


181 


turned  to  good  style  and  thus  influence  one's  own  manner 
of  writing. 

Opportunities 

Journalism  is  a  growing  business.  Every  one  reads  the 
newspapers.  The  daily  editions  of  many  are  in  the  hun- 
dred thousands.  That  means  that  in  every  city  and  town 
there  is  newspaper  work  for  many  people.  Reporters, 
after  they  beeome  established,  are  paid  well.  They 
usually  begin  by  getting  so  much  a  column  for  acceptable 
copy.  The  better  pay  comes  when  they  are  accepted  on 
the  staff  and  work  for  a  salary.  Good  men  may  be  sent 
to  all  parts  of  the  world  to  write  up  important  occur- 
rences. Richard  Harding  Davis,  George  Kennan,  and 
John  McCuteheon  have  made  reputations  in  this  way,  but 
practically  all  great  newspaper  men  began  as  "  cub  "  re- 
porters, and  young  men  who  have  the  necessary  qualities 
and  energy  are  likely  to  succeed. 

Newspapers  have  the  opportunity  of  exerting  a  tre- 
mendous influence  on  the  community.  This  is  no  longer 
accomplished  through  long  preaching  editorials,  for  the 
day  of  the  personal  editor  is  past.  To  be  sure,  every 
paper  lias  its  editorial  page,  and  there  the  attitude  of  the 
paper  is  briefly  shown.  But  r°aders  do  not  spend  much 
time  on  this  page,  and  the  bulk  of  the  paper  is  taken  up 
with  news.  Nowadays  a  paper  exerts  its  influence  by 
simply  reporting  facts.  The  newspaper  really  belongs  to 
the  people.  It  is  an  important  means  of  their  education. 
It  tells  people  what  is  happening  politically,  industrially, 
and  socially  and  enables  them  to  form  their  own  opinions 
regarding  public  affairs,  especially  in  the  matter  of  elec- 
tions. If  the  facts  are  not  reported  accurately  and  with- 
out bias  the  reader  does  not  have  a  chance  to  learn  wliat  is 
happening  and  to  make  his  own  decisions. 


182  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

There  frequently  arise  mural  reasons  why  the  news 
should  be  reported  accurately,  and  sometimes  a  paper  is 
tempted  to  fall  below  its  responsibility  and  fails  to  report 
accurately  events  that  reflect  unfavorably  on  certain  indi- 
viduals or  business  houses.  An  honest  newspaper  not  only 
reports  such  conditions  but  suggests  public  action  to  com- 
bat illegal  or  vicious  conditions. 

The  standards  that  a  newspaper  sets  for  itself  are  de- 
termined in  many  ways.  There  are  questions  of  the  sort 
of  news  reported,  the  sort  of  things  advertised,  the  atti- 
tude taken  on  public  questions  that  are  to  be  decided  by 
popular  vote,  by  state  legislatures,  by  city  councils.  All 
of  these  points  suggest  the  possibilities  for  public  service 
that  newspaper  work  offers. 

We  have  spoken  particularly  of  the  daily  paper,  though 
what  has  been  said  is  pretty  generally  true  of  magazine 
writing  also.  Here  the  work  must  be  a  little  more  finished 
in  style  and  complete  in  substance.  It  takes  real  talent  to 
succeed,  and  it  is  hard  to  get  a  start,  but  when  one  has 
once  made  a  name  for  himself,  his  struggling  period  is 
over. 

As  for  women,  there  are  many  of  them  in  this  sort  of 
work.     They  are  as  likely  to  have  the  talent  for  writing 
as  are  men,  and  in  many  departments  of  newspaper  work 
we  find  women   reporters.     A   big  daily   paper  with   its 
rush  methods  seems  to  be  a  man's  sphere,  but  even  here, 
you  will  see  many  departments  under  the  direction  of 
women.     They  may  be  responsible  for  the  society  news, 
theatrical,  music,  and  art  reports,  book  reviews,  and  even 
occasionally  correspondence  concerning  vital  national  sit- 
uations.    Magazine  writing  is  open  to  women  as  much  as 
to  men.     They  have  merely  to  prove  their  talent.     Miss 
Rose  Young,  who  has  held  some  of  the  best  positions  in 
the  newspaper  world,  gives  us  the  following  points  about 


THE    PROFESSIONS  183 

opportunities  for  women  in  this  line.  It  takes  a  good  deal 
of  effort  and  pushing  for  women  to  get  a  start,  and  in 
starting  they  get  less  money  than  men.  For  instance,  a 
man  "  cub  "  reporter  gets  about  twenty  dollars  a  week, 
while  a  woman  gets  about  seventeen.  But  there  may  be 
chances  for  her  to  work  into  better  positions.  The  aver- 
age woman  reporter  may  get  $30  a  week;  if  she  becomes 
editor  of  the  women's  news  department  she  will  be  paid 
from  $35  to  $60.  Miss  Young  tells  of  one  woman  with 
a  responsible  position  who  received  $125  a  week,  but  this, 
like  many  other  positions  at  the  top,  was  exceptional.  She 
feels  that  there  is  a  place  in  editorial  work  for  women  in 
that  they  can  get  the  women's  point  of  view  better  than 
men,  and  that  as  women's  interests  are  growing,  women's, 
newspaper  work  is  bound  to  grow. 

SOCIAL  SERVICE 

Under  social  service  we  include  the  distinctly  religious 
leaders  in  the  churches  and  synagogues,  Young  Men's  and 
Young  Women's  Christian  Association  workers,  as  well 
as  those  who  are  engaged  in  what  is  technically  called 
social  service.  It  is  surprising  to  learn  how  many  activ- 
ities are  covered  under  this  last  group.  It  includes  su- 
perintendents, officers,  directors,  and  investigators  of  recre- 
ation parks,  juvenile  courts,  social  settlements,  organized 
charity,  special  work  for  unfortunate  children,  prison  and 
housing  reform,  public  health  and  sanitation,  immigra- 
tion problems,  and  other  industrial  questions.  You  can 
see  the  reason  for  including  all  of  these  in  one  group.  All 
those  who  are  interested  in  going  into  any  work  of  this 
kind  are  probably  influenced  by  the  same  motive;  namely, 
the  desire  to  do  something  positive  to  help  make  condi- 
tions in  this  world  better;  the  determination  to  put  their 


184  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

energies  in  a  place  where  help  is  most  needed.  It  is  taken 
for  granted  that  these  are  the  reasons  for  going  into  so- 
cial work,  and  therefore,  perhaps  unconsciously,  the  public 
expects  high  standards  of  conduct  and  character  in  those 
engaged  in  it. 

Qualifications 

1.  Some  of  the  qualifications  can  he  seen  immediately. 
This  sort  of  work  is  not  carried  on  for  the  sake  of  mak- 
ing money.  There  has  been  an  effort  made  to  pay  ade- 
quate salaries,  and  those  who  give  all  of  their  time  to  it 
may  be  reasonably  certain  of  supporting  themselves  and 
their  families,  but  they  cannot  hope  for  much  besides  this. 
So  unless  you  are  sufficiently  interested  in  it  to  work  for  a 
moderate  salary,  this  is  not  the  work  for  you. 

2.  There  should  be  a  willingness  to  forget  yourself  and 
yonr  comfort  in  a  great  many  ways.  Certain  phases  of 
this  work  would  involve  living  in  undesirable  neighbor- 
hoods ;  or  working  with  people  who  are  not  particularly  con- 
genial ;  or,  in  times  of  an  emergency,  giving  your  time  and 
strength  when  it  is  very  difficult  to  do  so.  For  example, 
a  young  woman,  who  had  been  accustomed  to  every  com- 
fort and  had  had  every  advantage,  undertook  the  in- 
vestigation of  laundry  conditions  in  a  big  city.  In  order 
to  do  this,  she  went  as  a  worker  in  a  laundry,  where  she 
had  to  stand  all  day  in  a  steaming  hot  room,  and  went 
home  every  night  worn  out  and  with  wet,  swollen  feet. 
From  her  investigations  she  learned  many  things  about 
the  conditions  of  working  girls,  and  through  her  influence 
laws  were  passed  so  that  never  again  will  the  working  con- 
ditions in  this  trade  be  so  difficult.  Xot  that  this  method 
must  alwavs  be  used,  but  it  is  illustrative  of  the  fact  that 
social  betterment  is  often  accomplished  through  the  self- 
sacrificing  devotion  of  the  worker. 


THE    PROFESSIONS  1&5 

3.  The  third  quality  may  naturally  be  inferred  from 
the  second,  for  self -forget-f illness  leads  to  courage.  In- 
deed, Donald  llankey  felt  that  in  the  great  war  it  was  the 
very  secret  of  bravery.  This  is  perhaps  the  most  essential 
quality  of  all.  Much  of  social  service  work  consists  in 
investigating  conditions  and  then  in  influencing  legisla- 
tion to  better  them.  Until  the  whole  world  learns,  as 
it  is  gradually  learning,  that  it  is  really  profitable  for  the 
bii>'  business  interests  to  have  decent  living  conditions  for 
its  employees,  such  enterprise  will  take  a  good  deal  of 
courage  in  working  for  what  seems  right.  And  the  mat- 
ter of  legislation,  although  it  gets  at  fundamentals,  is  only 
a  part  of  this  work.  There  are  countless  problems  com- 
ing up  every  day,  in  all  lines  that  require  courage  and  self- 
reliance. 

4.  There  must  he  a  willingness  to  take  responsibilities. 
If  you  are  a  follower  and  want  always  to  be  told  exactly 
what  to  do  and  how  to  do  it,  you  would  better  not  under- 
take this  sort  of  work.  Social  service  workers  are  essen- 
tially leaders. 

There  are  many  qualities  which  are  desirable  in  par- 
ticular branches  of  this  work;  but  if  you  have  those  al- 
ready mentioned  and  are  eager  to  undertake  it,  you  can 
in  the  course  of  your  preparation,  pick  out  the  particular 
line  for  which  you  are  fitted. 

Preparation 

For  all  of  this  work  it  is  better  to  have  a  whole  or  at 
least  a  part  of  a  college  course.  For  most  ministers  this 
is  expected  before  they  begin  their  special  training.  As 
these  requirements  differ  in  the  various  sects,  it  would  be 
well  to  investigate  for  yourself  if  you  are  interested.  In 
one  way  it  differs  from  the  long  preparation  for  law  or 
medicine;  one  can  usually  begin  his  work  before  finishing 


186  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

his  course  and  thus  does  not  need  so  much  capital  ahead. 
But  you  can  probably  see  for  yourself  that  in  the  entire 
field  of  social  work  a  very  broad  point  of  view  would  be 
necessary.  For  this  reason  a  broad  foundation  is  desir- 
able and  if  one  can  afford  it,  a  full  college  course  is  not 
too  much.  The  Christian  Associations  have  special 
courses  for  their  secretaries.  Schools  are  being  established 
for  training  in  social  work.  For  entrance  to  these  schools, 
students  are  supposed  to  be  mature,  and  to  have  the 
general  education  of  a  college  graduate.  These  schools 
are  situated  in  New  York,  in  Boston,  in  Philadelphia,  in 
Chicago,  and  in  St.  Louis.  Many  universities  now  give 
courses  for  social  service  work,  and  by  selecting  the  right 
work  in  college,  you  might  be  ready  to  start  in  at  your 
graduation.  In  a  large  city  like  New  York  or  Chicago, 
it  is  desirable  to  have  the  ability  to  speak  a  foreign  lan- 
guage, especially  would  Bohemian  or  some  of  the  lan- 
guages of  Southern  Europe  be  valuable. 

Opportunities 

In  general  it  may  be  said  that  there  is  a  very  wide  op- 
portunity in  this  line  of  work,  for  both  men  and  women, 
all  over  the  country.  In  The  Field  of  Social  Service, 
by  Philip  Davis,  there  is  in  the  supplement  a  discussion 
of  about  forty-five  types  of  positions  of  this  sort.  As  to 
salaries  they  range  all  the  way  from  $500  a  year  up  to 
$5000.     The  average  seems  to  run  from  $1000  to  $3000. 

A  good  many  industrial  concerns  are  employing  men 
or  women  for  what  is  called  social  service.  The  person 
in  charge  looks  out  for  the  welfare  of  the  employees  of 
the  establishment.  This  may  mean  organizing  clubs,  ad- 
vising in  the  matter  of  health,  amusements,  education,  or 
helping  in  any  way  that  may  be  necessary.  Salaries  are 
generally  higher  than  those  in  other  social  work. 


THE    PROFESSIONS 


187 


But  here  again,  as  in  teaching  and,  in  general,  in  most 
professions,  financial  remuneration  is  not  the  chief  thing 
sought.  In  spite  of  the  discouragements,  in  spite  of  the 
criticism  of  influential  people,  in  spite  of  being  some- 
times misunderstood  by  the  very  people  you  are  trying 
to  help,  and  living  with  smaller  income  and  fewer  com- 
forts than  might  come  .in  other  work,  there  is  here  an 
opportunity  for  the  very  deepest  and  most  lasting  sort  of 
happiness,  that  which  comes  from  giving  and  forgetting 
oneself  for  the  sake  of  others.  But  we  do  not  mean  to 
imply  that  those  who  go  into  other  occupations  go  with 
a  selfish  motive.  One  may  feel  that  he  is  particularly 
fitted  for  some  entirely  different  line  of  work,  and  he  may 
there  become  a  man  of  such  influence  that  there  will  be 
no  limit  to  the  good  he  can  do.  But  if  you  feel  interested 
in  social  service  and  after  counting  the  cost  are  willing 
to  undertake  it,  you  may  be  sure  of  a  lasting  satisfaction 
in  your  work. 

After  you  have  decided  whether  your  interest  and  nat- 
ural abilities  lie  in  this  work,  there  is  ample  opportunity 
for  trying  out  in  a  practical  way.  In  the  larger  towns 
and  cities,  there  are  almost  always  social  settlements, 
where  they  are  likely  to  need  helpers  in  looking  after 
girls'  clubs,  boys'  clubs,  and  libraries,  or  in  teaching  vari- 
ous sorts  of  classes.  College  students  often  do  this  sort  of 
thing  in  vacations.  Then  there  are  boys'  and  girls'  sum- 
mer camps  and  vacation  schools  that  need  volunteer  help. 
You  may  be  able  to  help  the  probation  officer  or  the 
Woman's  Club  or  the  Red  Cross  work  in  your  town. 
Many  churches  do  this  kind  of  work  and  would  give  you 
a  chance  to  help  or  you  might  do  something  with  the  Boy 
Scouts  or  Campfire  Girls  or  Young  Men's  Christian  Associ- 
ation. If  you  will  keep  your  eyes  open  you  will  find  many 
chances  to  volunteer  for  unpaid  work  and  in  this  way  you 


188  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

can  tell  whether  it  is  really  the  sort  of  work  you  are  best 
fitted  to  undertake. 

.  Here  for  a  third  time  we  come  to  a  line  of  work  in 
which  there  are  more  women  than  men.  The  census  re- 
port of  1910  shows  a  majority  of  about  a  thousand.  Often 
women  doctors  and  nurses  use  their  professional  training 
in  this  way.  There  are  many  women  probation  officers, 
truant  officers,  settlement  workers.  Efficient  women  are 
greatly  needed  in  Young  Women's  Christian  Association 
work.  Competent  women  are  being  recruited  from  the 
ranks  of  teachers,  librarians,  and  other  lines,  and  given 
responsible  work,  even  without  special  training,  because 
there  is  such  a  dearth  of  workers.  For  educational  and 
welfare  work  in  the  big  stores  and  industrial  plants,  many 
women  are  employed. 

THE  LIBRARY 

Men  and  women  both  find  a  field  here,  although  there 
are  perhaps  more  women,  especially  as  assistants.  Public 
libraries  have  come  to  be  a  most  necessary  and  usual  thing 
in  this  country,  and  we  find  all  types  from  the  small  library 
composed  of  a  few  books  collected  by  some  public  spirited 
person  and  presented  to  a  small  town,  to  the  Congressional 
Library  in  Washington.  Indeed  they  have  become  so  gen- 
eral, that  many  people  of  the  class  who  used  to  own  large 
libraries,  do  not  now  buy  many  books,  but  depend  almost 
entirely  upon  the  public  libraries  for  their  reading  matter. 
There  is  no  question,  then,  that  this  is  a  growing  field,  and 
after  we  have  studied  it.  we  shall  see  why  it  may  be  classed 
as  a  profession.  Many  of  the  great  industries  have  their 
libraries,  and  the  professions  are  all  dependent  upon  the 
librarian. 


the  professions  189 

Qualifications 

1.  First  of  all  a  librarian  is  business-like.  The  head 
librarian  will  have  much  responsibility  in  buying  books 
and  other  equipment,  and  should  be  able  to  do  this  to  the 
best  advantage.  He  must  have  the  ability  to  keep  things 
right  up  to  date,  else  he  will  be  hopelessly  swamped.  In 
short  the  head  of  the  library,  just  as  the  head  of  any  other 
institution,  is  its  executive  and  should  be  able  to  run  it  in 
a  smooth,  business-like,  up-to-date  way. 

2.  He  should  be  accurate  and  systematic.  There  is  in 
a  library  an  endless  amount  of  detailed,  methodical  work, 
and  one  who  is  impatient  about  giving  attention  to  small 
points  should  find  his  work  in  some  other  place.  Along 
this  line,  there  is  a  good  deal  of  mechanical  work  which 
must  be  carefully  done.  Books  must  be  stamped,  the  leaves 
cut,  labels  pasted  in,  and  often  books  must  be  mended. 
Making  out  catalogue  cards  and  accession  lists  is  also  care- 
ful detailed  work.  One  must  exercise  judgment  in  classi- 
fying books  under  the  appropriate  heads. 

3.  The  librarian  should  be  a  person  of  culture  and 
scholarship.  He  is  something  like  a  clerk  showing  his 
goods.  The  broader  the  education  of  the  librarian,  the 
better  he  will  be  able  to  help  the  patrons  of  the  library. 
For  instance,  when  the  book  called  for  is  not  in,  he  may 
be  able  to  suggest  a  substitute.  There  are  many  other 
ways  in  which  scholarship  and  culture  are  a  help. 

4.  He  should  have  a  gracious  manner.  It  often  takes 
a  goodly  amount  of  self-control  and  patience  to  treat  gra- 
ciously and  courteously  a  continuous  stream  of  all  sorts  of 
people,  all  day  long,  day  after  day.  The  library  belongs 
to  the  people  and  even  though  they  should  be  unreasonable, 
they  must  be  made  to  feel  comfortable  and  to  enjoy  com- 
ing to  their  books. 


190  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

5.  A  certain  amount  of  discipline  is  necessary  in 
every  library;  but  this  discipline  must  be  exercised  in  an 
extremely  tactful  way.  It  is  the  librarian's  duty  to  see 
that  the  reading-room  is  so  quiet  as  not  to  disturb  those 
who  are  using  it.  Also,  he  must  be  strict  in  regard  to 
the  rules  for  returning  books  and  for  keeping  them  in 
good  condition. 

6.  The  librarian  must  be  quick  in  his  movements. 
He  should  study  to  eliminate  unnecessary  motions;  the 
line  of  people  waiting  to  return  and  get  books  must  be  at- 
tended to  in  the  shortest  possible  time. 

7.  The  children's  room  demands  a  person  with  still 
other  characteristics.  She,  for  this  is  usually  a  woman, 
must  have  a  broad  sympathy  with  children.  She  will  prob- 
ably have  a  story  hour  and  so  she  must  be  able  to  interest 
children.  At  other  times,  the  children  7nust  be  kept  rea- 
sonably quiet  and  yet  must  be  taught  to  ?njoy  the  library. 

Preparation 

Formerly  it  was  customary  for  a  girl  to  receive  her 
training  in  library  work  by  serving  a  sort  of  apprentice- 
ship at  some  library;  but  that  day  is  almost  past  and  one 
so  trained  finds  himself  very  much  handicapped.  In- 
deed, one  librarian  who  had  learned  in  that  way  and  had 
held  a  good  position  for  a  number  of  years,  lost  her  posi- 
tion because  as  the  library  grew,  problems  came  up  which 
on  account  of  her  lack  of  training  she  was  not  able  to 
handle.  The  only  safe  and  sure  way  is  to  take  training  in 
a  library  school.  This  would  take  two  or  three  years,  and 
then  there  should  be  at  least  one  year  of  practice  in  an 
actual  library.  After  this  a  capable  person  is  pretty  sure 
of  a  good  position.  As  we  said,  the  librarian  should  have 
a  certain  amount  of  culture  and  scholarship ;  and  there- 
fore a  college  education  is  a  splendid  thing.     A  knowledge 


THE    PROFESSIONS 


191 


of  other  languages  is  important,  as  there  will  be  many  for- 
eign books  on  the  shelves.  In  the  library  school  one  learns 
how  to  order,  classify,  and  catalogue  books.  Some  very 
efficient  systems  of  classifying  books  have  been  developed. 
Besides  this  there  are,  of  course,  many  other  details  to  be 
learned.  Probably  the  best  known  library  school  in  the 
country  is  in  Albany,  1ST.  Y.  Then  many  of  the  universi- 
ties have  library  schools.  In  order  to  continue  one's  edu- 
cation so  as  to  keep  up  with  new  methods,  there  are 
library  magazines  and  national  and  local  associations  for 
librarians,  in  which  new  methods  and  problems  are  dis- 
cussed. 

Opportunities 

In  a  small  library  the  librarian  has  all  the  work  to  do 
himself;  while  the  man  in  charge  of  the  largest  libraries 
is  an  executive  with  many  assistants.  One  usually  begins 
as  an  assistant  in  a  medium  sized  library.  There  are 
many  sorts  of  libraries  :  the  public  library,  the  public  school 
library,  the  university  library,  the  special  law,  art,  sci- 
ence library,  the  library  in  the  industrial  plant,  and  many 
others. 

Many  librarians  complain  that  their  work  is  monoto- 
nous, and  this  is  undoubtedly  due  to  the  endless  detail  and 
business  routine  that  we  have  mentioned;  yet  when  one 
has  this  under  control  there  are  many  compensations.  The 
librarian  is  in  an  unusual  position  for  helping,  and  there 
is  always  great  satisfaction  in  this.  All  sorts  of  people 
come  to  the  public  library,  the  studious  who  understand 
and  love  books,  as  well  as  the  indifferent  person  who  finds 
the  reading  room  a  comfortable  place  in  which  to  idle 
away  his  time.  Gradually  the  library  should  cultivate 
a  taste  for  good  reading  in  the  community.  Andrew 
Carnegie  says  that  every  business  man  should  cultivate  a 


192  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

taste  for  reading,  both  in  order  to  have  a  means  for  relax- 
ing in  his  leisure  hours,  and  to  be  able  to  learn  more  about 
his  particular  business. 

This  is  a  profession  in  which  men  and  women  have 
an  equal  opportunity.  In  the  universities  many  students 
earn  their  tuition  by  working  in  the  library.  In  this 
way  they  learn  many  of  the  fundamental  principles,  and 
have  a  chance  to  discover  whether  this  sort  of  work  appeals 
to  them.  One  young  woman  who  began  in  this  way,  found 
that  she  loved  the  work  and,  after  a  course  in  Albany, 
has  distinguished  herself  and  now  holds  a  responsible 
position  in  the  public  library  of  one  of  our  largest  cities. 
Another  young  woman  specializes  in  cataloguing  and  is 
sent  for  by  the  largest  libraries  all  over  the  country  when- 
ever there  is  special  cataloguing  to  do.  There  are  all 
sorts  of  opportunities  and  while  it  may  not  have  the 
spice  of  some  kinds  of  work,  there  are  countless  delight- 
ful things  about  it. 

EXERCISES 

1.  Is  there  danger  in  a  teacher  being  so  devoted  to  books  that  he 
loses  interest  in  his  pupils? 

2.  In  many  states  men  get  a  higher  salary  than  women  for  do- 
ing the  same  work.  Why  is  this?  Is  it  just?.  What  economic  law 
does  it  illustrate? 

3.  Why  do  young  men  just  out  of  college  often  choose  teaching 
when  they  do  not  intend  to  make  it  their  life  work? 

4.  Is  the  difference  between  the  minimum  and  maximum  in  teach- 
ers' salaries  in  the  same  proportion  as  in  other  lines  of  work? 
What  effect  does  this  have  on  young  men  especially? 

5.  Will  women  ever  receive  the  same  remuneration  as  men  in  this 
profession?     If  so  what  cause  will  bring  this  about?     If  not,  why? 

6.  The  secondary  schools  and  colleges  especially  need  men  and 
women  of  fine  moral  calibre.     Why  is  this  true? 

7.  What  is  the  danger  of  having  too  many  women  and  too  few 
men  teachers  in  the  secondary  schools?. 


THE    PROFESSIONS  193 

8.  In  the  last  years  the  demand  for  special  teachers  has  changed. 
Can  you  tell  in  what  way?     What  causes  this  change? 

9.  What   dictates   the   policy   of   a   newspaper?     Does   the   editor 
have  anything  to  say  about  it? 

10.  May  a  newspaper  writer  wait  for  "  inspiration  "  ? 

11.  A  paper  is  often  sued  for  libel.     Explain  how  this  may  happen. 

12.  A  reporter  must  have  persistence.     Under  what  circumstances? 

13.  Does  the  art  of  scenario  writing  differ  from  magazine  writing? 
If  so,  in  what  respect?  What  are  some  qualities  especially  necessary 
for  those  who  write  scenarios? 

14.  Is  a  position  on  a  newspaper  good  training  for  one  who  aspires 
to  write  for  the  magazines?     Give  your  reasons. 

15.  Is  there  danger  of  a  person  being  too  sympathetic  to  make  a 
good  social  worker? 

10.  Can  you  tell  how  conditions  have  been  improved  in  any  line 
during  the  last  few  years  through  publicity? 

17.  Why  is  the  field  of  social  work  more  popular  with  women  than 
with  men  ? 

18.  Mention  some  men  and  women  who  are  well  known  for  work 
of  this  sort.     Choose  cne  and  tell  about  his  work. 

1!).  Is  there  danger  of  depending  too  much  on  the  public  libraries 
and  having  no  library  of  your  own?  Why  should  every  person  have 
at  least  a  small  library  of  his  own? 

20.  Some  libraries  have  women  to  cut  out,  mount,  and  classify  pic- 
tures from  magazines,  and  papers.     How  may  these  be  used? 

21.  Mention  a  well  known  man  who  has  built  and  equipped  many 
libraries.     What  plan  did  he  use?     How  many  has  he  built? 

22.  Of  the  four:  teaching,  library  work,  journalism,  and  social 
service  work,  which  do  you  think  is  the  most  helpful  to  society? 
Which  causes  the  greatest  nervous  strain?  Which  would  take  the 
longest  preparation?  Which  would  bring  one  in  contact  with  the 
most  interesting  people?     Which  would  you  enjoy  the  most?     Why? 

REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Devine,  Edward  T.  Positions  in  Social  Work.  New  York  School  of 
Philanthropy,  1912. 

Bleyer,  W.  G.  Newspaper  Writing  and  Editing.  Houghton  Mif- 
flin Co.,  1913. 

Social  Work.      (Pamphlet).     Russell  Sage  Foundation. 

Ward,  Edward  J.     The  Social  Center.     D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  1913. 


-^94  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

Bardeen    C    W      Teaching  as  a  Business.     C.  W.  Bardeen.     1897. 
BosT™,   A     L.     The   Lerioan   Pullic  Library.    D.   Applet    t 

GivENrJ1?,10'  Tfce  Making  of  a  Newspaper.     Henry  Holt  &  Co. 
Davis,  Philip.     The  Field  of  Social  Service. 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  PROFESSIONS 

(Continued) 

ENGINEERING 

Engineering  is  the  "  Mecca "  of  a  great  many  boys 
who  do  not  know  into  what  other  field  they  would  fit  and 
who  think  perhaps  they  would  find  success  here.  But  en- 
gineering is  a  very  broad  field,  and  if  a  boy  has  no  more 
definite  idea  than  this,  he  is  not  very  clear  as  to  his  own 
desire.  However,  there  is  a  great  overlapping  of  occu- 
pations and  the  qualities  and  preparation  of  the  engineer 
may  be  very  much  the  same  as  those  of  the  head  of  a 
large  manufacturing  or  building  enterprise.  Indeed, 
many  men  have  changed  from  one  to  the  other.  For 
example,  take  Captain  W.  R.  Jones,  who  was  for  many 
years  general  superintendent  of  the  Carnegie  steel  mills. 
He  had  all  the  qualities  of  a  great  manufacturer,  but  he 
was  also  a  great  engineer,  was  a  member  of  the  American 
Institute  of  Mining  Engineers  and  of  the  American  So- 
ciety of  Mechanical  Engineers.  The  engineer  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  in  the  manufacturing  plant.  He  is 
needed  in  designing  the  plant,  in  planning  and  construct- 
ing the  machinery,  and  in  perfecting  and  developing  im- 
provements of  all  sorts.  But  we  take  up  this  occupation 
separately  because,  while  it  is  connected  with  other  occupa- 
tions, it  is  a  great  profession  by  itself.  Like  the  other  pro- 
fessions, it  requires  a  long  preparation  ;  and  considering  the 
capital  invested  in  getting  ready  for  it,  the  money  returns 

195 


196  VOCATIONAL,    CIVICS 

may  be  very  small ;  but,  like  the  other  professions,  it  gives 
the  compensating  satisfaction  that  one  is  engaged  in  a 
work  that  may  be  a  great  benefit  to  his  fellow  man.  The 
government  employs  many  engineers.  It  is  the  engineer 
who  plans  and  carries  out  irrigation  projects,  and  who  is 
needed  at  many  turns  by  the  farmer.  The  railroads  could 
neither  be  built  nor  maintained  without  him.  Altogether, 
perhaps  more  than  that  of  any  other  profession,  we  can  see 
that  his  work  is  indispensable  to  the  great  industries. 
Engineering  may  be  in  any  of  the  following  fields: 

1.  Civil  engineering.  This  deals  with  surveying,  lay- 
ing out  roads,  and  building  bridges. 

2.  Mechanical  engineering.  This  deals  with  power, 
machinery,  and  the  handling  of  engines. 

3.  Electrical  engineering.  This  deals  with  all  the  pos- 
sible applications  of  electricity  and  is  a  very  broad  field 
in  itself.  It  may  be  telephone  engineering,  dynamo  en 
gineering,   electrical  design. 

4.  Chemical  engineering.  This  deals  with  the  science 
of  chemistry  in  modern  industry.  !N early  every  large 
manufacturing  establishment  has  its  chemists  to  determine 
the  quality  of  its  purchased  material  or  output,  or  to  in- 
vestigate the  possibility  of  saving.  For  instance,  the 
steel  business  analyzes  the  coal,  coke  and  steel ;  the  soap 
business  the  composition  of  fats  and  soap;  the  dairy 
business,  the  quality  of  milk,  cream,  and  butter. 

5.  Sanitary  engineering.  This  deals  with  such  work  as 
the  laving  out  of  sewers  and  water  mains. 

6.  Railroad  engineering.  This  is  concerned  with  the 
laying  out  of  railroads,  building  stations  and  bridges. 

1.  Mining  engineering.  This  has  to  do  with  the  prob- 
lems of  mines;  such  as,  assaying,  drainage. 

8.  Besides  these,  we  should  perhaps  mention  naval, 
marine  and  aeronautic  engineering. 


THE    PROFESSIONS 


197 


It  is  not  so  very  many  years  since  the  term  "  engineer  " 
referred  exclusively  to  the  "  civil  engineer,"  and  he  was 
simply  a  surveyor  in  a  very  narrow  sense,  concerned 
Chiefly  in  marking  out  boundaries  for  the  farmer.  The  re- 
markable advance  in  the  last  forty  years  has  created  the 
demand  for  all  these  technically  trained  engineers.  Dur- 
ing this  time  there  have  come  into  use  gas  engines,  steam 
turbines,  dynamos,  telephones,  phonographs,  electric 
lamps,  trolley  cars,  automobiles,  airplanes,  and  wireless 
telegraphy.  So  we  see  that  engineering  is  a  new  and 
very  wide  profession. 

Qualifications 

What  kind  of  boy,  then,  might  well  consider  going  into 
this  type  of  work? 

1.  Probably  the  most  important  quality  is  skill  in 
mathematics.  The  ability  to  handle  problems  in  algebra, 
geometry  and  calculus  is  the  foundation  of  all  engineer- 
ing work.  In  order  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  extent  to 
which  mathematics  is  used,  you  have  only  to  go  to  a 
library  and  look  over  two  or  three  of  the  engineering 
magazines.  You  will  see  formulae  and  calculations  on 
every  page.  Or  look  over  the  catalogue  of  some  engineer- 
ing school  to  see  how  much  mathematics  is  required.  If 
vou  cannot  handle  mathematics  or  it  is  distasteful  to 
you,  you  would  better  go  into  some  other  line  of  work. 

2.  He  should  have  some  inventive  ability,  not  neces- 
sarily the  genius  for  great  inventions,  but  the  power  of 
seeing  something  beyond  the  way  things  are  working 
now.  Look  again  in  the  engineering  magazines  and  see 
how  the  work  of  invention  is  going  on.  You  will  find 
plans  for  counteracting  the  effects  of  heat  and  cold  on  ma- 
chinery, devices  for  repairs,  new  conveniences  for  mod- 
ern buildings,  or  means  for  transporting  material  from 


198  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

mines.  It  all  reads  like  a  fascinating  fairy  tale,  but  we 
understand  that  the  prospective  engineer  must  be  ready  to 
add  his  skill  and  brains  to  the  creation  of  these  wonders. 

3.  There  should  be  some  skill  in  mechanical  drawing 
and  general  ability  in  using  one's  hands.  Indeed, 
engineering  differs  from  most  of  the  professions  in  deal- 
ing with  things  rather  than  with  people. 

4.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  a  good  engineer  who  has 
not  a  love  for  and  understanding  of  machinery.  Perhaps 
this  estimate  of  a  distinguished  engineer  by  another  in 
his  profession  will  help  to  show  the  type  of  mind  that 
is  likely  to  succeed.  "  He  had  exceptional  mechanical 
judgment;  he  saw  the  simplest  way  to  a  desired  end, 
discarding  unerringly  all  superfluous  material  and  move- 
ments." 

Preparation 

But  in  these  days  the  natural  ability  is  not  enough.  An 
engineer  tells  about  two  young  men  with  inventive  minds, 
who  brought  to  his  office  two  sample  motors  which  they 
had  made  and  of  which  they  were  very  proud.  The 
motors  worked  well  and  showed  inventive  genius  but  much 
better  ones  were  on  the  market,  which  showed  that  on 
account  of  a  lack  of  technical  education,  the  young  men 
had  accomplished  nothing.  Their  work  was  a  failure,  not 
because  of  a  lack  of  ability,  but  because  they  had  not 
learned  what  had  been  done  in  that  line. 

As  to  the  actual  preparation,  it  would  be  foolish  for 
a  young  man  to  undertake  any  line  of  engineering  with- 
out the  training  of  a  technical  school.  To  enter  this,  he 
must  have  had  the  four  years  high  school  course.  The 
technical  course  takes  four  years.  But  of  late,  the  schools 
have  been  urging  that  five  or  six  years  be  spent  in  train- 
ing after  the  high  school  course.     The  extra  year  or  two 


THE    PROFESSIONS  199 

are  spent  in  a  broad  education  as  a  foundation  for  the 
specialized  training-.  We  have  the  opinion  of  a  number 
of  eminent  engineers  that  it  is  desirable  to  know  some- 
thing of  language,  of  political  science,  history,  and  litera- 
ture, so  that  the  engineer  may  be  ready  to  hold  his  own 
as  he  comes  into  contact  with  other  educated  men.  The 
competition  is  so  great  that  one  who  would  succeed  has 
need  of  the  best  possible  preparation.  Almost  all  the 
large  universities  have  technical  schools  of  various  kinds, 
and  there  are  several  schools  exclusively  technical,  such  as 
the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology  and  the  Ar- 
mour Institute  of  Chicago. 

Opportunities 

The  fact  that  millions  of  dollars  are  spent  for  engineer- 
ing works  shows  the  bigness  of  this  occupation.  The 
Panama  Canal,  the  Roosevelt  dam  in  Arizona,  the  great 
dam  at  Lockport,  111.,  gigantic  buildings  and  strong  rail- 
road bridges,  all  impress  us  with  the  wonders  of  the 
achievements  of  our  engineers.  And  yet  those  who  know 
the  most  about  these  things  tell  us  that  marvels  have 
only  just  begun.  Much  of  the  advance  is  due  to  the 
training  of  the  technical  schools  which  prepare  many 
young  men  to  help  in  the  progress  that  before  was  left  to 
a  few  geniuses.  Now  the  practical  engineers  say  that 
more  scientific  research  work  is  needed,  particularly  work 
that  is  done  by  advanced  students  and  professors  in  the 
laboratories.  It  is  in  this  way  that  inventions  and  im- 
provements are  developed.  The  geniuses  who  get  the 
first  visions  of  the  beginnings  of  things  are  few;  and  in 
this  age  not  much  would  be  accomplished  were  it  not  for 
the  trained  army  w7ith  some  degree  of  inventiveness  and 
ingenuity  who  are  able  to  follow  up  those  of  rare  visions. 
The  inspiration  comes  from  considering  the  great  amount 


200  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

of  work  still  to  be  done.  Consider  the  field  of  applied 
electricity;  the  possibilities  of  what  may  come  are  amaz- 
ing. If  war  still  continues  to  be  a  necessary  part  of  our 
civilization,  the  engineer'has  a  great  opportunity  in  devis- 
ing schemes  for  our  national  defense. 

As  to  the  opportunities  financially,  it  is  said  that  the 
profession  is  overcrowded,  which  of  necessity  brings  the 
incomes  down.  This  is  perhaps  due  to  the  fact  that  great 
numbers  of  high  school  boys  have  been  attracted  to  this 
field,  because  they  enjoyed  driving  an  auto  or  playing 
with  an  electrical  battery..  But  as  in  the  other  occupations 
there  is  room  for  the  man  who  is  really  adapted  to  and  pre- 
pared for  this  work.  On  the  average,  the  financial  returns 
are  not  great.  After  his  graduation,  a  young  man  would 
be  likelv  to  start  rather  humblv  as  an  emplovee  of  some  cor- 
poration,  of  a  great  engineering  work,  a  city  or  of  a  rail- 
road. Here  he  would  have  severe  training,  but  if  success- 
ful, this  would  probably  not  last  more  than  two  or  three 
years.  For  those  who  have  come  through  these  years  of 
training  and  discipline  the  way  looks  bright,  even  though 
it  is  not  the  way  to  immense  fortune.  Statistics  show  that 
over  95  per  cent,  of  the  graduates  of  the  technical  schools 
are  earning  a  good  livelihood,  live  in  good  surroundings, 
and  that  many  are  prominent  men  in  their  communities. 
After  a  man  has  proved  his  ability  and  judgment,  he  is  in 
line  for  a  responsible  position.  The  civil  service  exam- 
inations open  the  way  to  attractive  work.  There  are  posi- 
tions in  the  Panama  Canal  Service,  in  the  army  and 
navy,  and  in  aviation,  in  the  work  in  forestry  and  min- 
ing. Many  of  the  best  engineers  are  employed  by 
railroads  or  corporations  at  large  salaries,  or  a  man 
may  go  into  business  for  himself  as  a  consulting  engi- 
neer. 

It  would  not  be  wise  to  start  in  this  occupation  with- 


THE    PROFESSIONS  201 

out  considering  the  dangerous  side  of  it.  From  the  bot- 
tom to  the  top  of  the  ladder,  in  experimenting,  in  in- 
specting boilers,  the  engineer  must  often  be  exposed  to 
accidents.  He  accepts  this  as  the  doctor,  the  soldier,  and 
others  accept  similar  risks.  As  an  example  of  this,  take 
William  R.  Jones,  consulting  engineer  for  all  the  Carnegie 
companies,  a  man  at  the  head  of  his  profession,  who  was 
receiving  a  salary  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  a  year.  This 
man,  while  inspecting  a  boiler  that  was  out  of  order,  was 
killed  by  an  explosion.  Like  a  captain  of  a  ship,  he 
had  stood  by  his  men  in  what  he  knew  to  be  a  dangerous 
situation.  On  the  other  hand  we  should  remember  that 
because  of  care  and  the  new  inventions  for  safety,  these 
things  are  happening  less  and  less  frequently. 

When  we  think  of  distinguished  men  in  this  line  the 
name  of  Edison  is  likely  to  come  to  us  first  of  all.  On  the 
11th  of  February,  1917,  this  man's  birthday  was  cele- 
brated by  engineers  and  inventors  all  over  the  country. 
It  was  said  that  we  now  have  three  birthdays  in  February 
to  remember,  those  of  Washington,  of  Lincoln,  and  of 
Edison.  What  higher  honour  could  be  given  to  the  work 
of  an  engineer? 

Another  great  engineer  was  Bessemer,  who  had  un- 
usual mechanical  genius,  and  a  decidedly  inventive  mind. 
He  was  especially  interested  in  iron  and  steel  works, 
read  and  studied  thoroughly  until  he  knew  everything 
that  had  been  done  in  that  line,  invented  improvement 
after  improvement,  and  finally  developed  the  famous 
Bessemer  process  of  making  steel. 

The  lives  of  distinguished  engineers  and  their  work 
read  like  the  most  interesting  novels.  In  the  magazine, 
Engineering  Neios,  sketches  of  the  lives  of  the  presidents 
of  the  various  societies  of  engineers  arc  frequently  given. 
In  a  recent  number  we  are  told  of  the  marvelous  work 


202  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

of  the  civil  engineer,  Geo.  II.  Pegram,  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  New  York  transit  lines.  This  was  a  very  com- 
plex and  dangerous  undertaking.  During  the  work,  the 
traffic  had  to  be  carried  on  and  yet  there  was  no  serious 
accident.  In  the  exact  words  of  the  writer,  it  took  the 
"  highest  order  of  engineering  skill  and  sleepless  vigi- 
lance." 

In  the  American  Boy,  for  March,  1917,  there  is  an  ac- 
count of  John  J.  Carty,  Chief  Engineer  of  the  American 
Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company.  It  is  due  largely  to 
him  that  the  telephone  service  reaches  from  New  York  to 
San  Francisco  and  that  it  is  possible  to  talk  by  wireless 
across  the  sea.  The  following  is  what  he  says  are  the  pos- 
sibilities for  young  men:  "My  conception  of  the  tele- 
phone business  —  and  I  know  that  it  is  the  conception  of 
the  highest  authorities  we  have  —  is  that  our  work  will  not 
even  nominally  be  accomplished  until  we  have  obtained 
this  result :  That  any  man  in  the  United  States,  wher- 
ever he  may  be  located,  may  within  a  reasonable  time,  be 
connected  with  any  other  man  in  the  United  States,  and 
talk  to  him  successfully.  That  is  a  very  large  order. 
Just  contemplate  for  a  moment  the  magnitude  of  a  plant 
of  that  sort.  There  is  no  plant  of  the  character  in  the 
universe.  It  is  not  like  a  great  steel  works,  where  the 
factory  can  be  viewed  at  once,  where  the  plant  can  be  ex- 
amined, but  the  property,  the  wires,  the  interests,  the 
methods  and  the  men  permeate  into  every  jurisdiction  in 
the  United  States.  .  .  .  There  is  no  problem  approaching 
that  in  complexity,  whether  viewed  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  political  economist,  from  the  legal  standpoint,  from 
the  financial  standpoint,  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
engineer,  or  from  the  commercial  standpoint. 

"Let  us  consider  the  future  from  just  one  standpoint: 
this  plant,  which  I  have  outlined  and  which  will  be  built, 


THE    PKOFESSIONS  203 

must  be  reconstructed  periodically.  What  a  stupendous 
thing  that  is ! 

"  This  magnificent  plant  must  be  kept  in  order  all  of 
the  time.  It  must  be  reconstructed ;  it  must  be  kept  up 
to  date ;  it  must  be  improved.  X ow  that  means  that  there 
is  going  to  be  work  in  this  business,  profession,  or  in- 
dustry, whichever  you  want  to  call  it,  for  the  highest 
grade  of  men  that  exists." 

We  might  multiply  examples,  but  they  all  go  to  show 
that  there  is  likely  to  be  plenty  of  work  for  the  engineer, 
work  full  of  interest,  fascination,  and  inspiration.  These 
are  the  great  leaders,  but,  as  they  themselves  say,  the  work 
in  these  days  is  not  done  by  individuals.  Every  invention 
and  improvement  requires  co-operation  so  that  there  is 
room  for  all  really  capable  men. 

THE  CHEMIST 

The  work  of  the  chemist  reaches  into  many  fields  and 
contributes  to  the  success  of  many  industries.  Every 
farmer  depends  for  success  upon  his  knowledge  of  the  chem- 
istry of  soils.  Chemistry  is  indispensable  to  the  manu- 
facturer. The  preservation  of  material,  which  is  only  one 
out  of  its  many  applications,  is  vital  to  the  success  of  the 
business.  The  profession  of  medicine  is  entirely  depend- 
ent on  the  help  of  the  chemist ;  while  mining,  printing, 
cooking  and  many  activities  are  somewhat  dependent 
upon  him.  But  we  shall  have  to  say  that  the  chemist 
has  made  a  profession  of  his  own,  and  since  the  engi- 
neers claim  him,  we  shall  discuss  him  under  this  head, 
and  call  him,  what  he  really  is,  a  chemical  engineer.  If 
we  had  time  it  would  be  interesting  to  trace  the  his- 
tory of  chemistry.  Its  forerunner  was  alchemy,  and  you 
have  probably  read  of  the  almost  weird  experiments  that 


204  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

the  alchemists  used  to  make.  But  we  are  more  concerned 
with  what  chemistry  is  doing  today.  There  are  three  dis- 
tinct divisions  of  this  profession.  First,  there  is  what 
is  called  academic  chemistry.  This  would  include  the 
teaching  of  chemistry  and  research  work  in  the  university 
laboratories.  Second,  there  is  industrial  chemistry. 
This  is  also  research  work,  but  in  a  laboratory  conducted 
in  the  interests  of  a  manufacturing  plant,  or  in  a  con- 
sulting laboratory  for  manufacturers  in  general.  Third, 
there  is  the  chemist  employed  by  the  government,  either 
city,  state,  or  federal.  To  show  how  many  professional 
chemists  there  are  in  the  country  and  how  they  have  in- 
creased, we  might  quote  three  census  reports;  in  1890, 
there  were  4503,  in  1000,  8887,  and  in  1910,  16,273. 

Qualifications 

First  of  all  the  chemist  should  have  the  instinct  for  re- 
search. Until  you  are  older  it  may  be  hard  to  understand 
just  what  is  meant  by  this.  It  implies,  for  one  thing,  the 
love  of  study,  and  the  willingness  to  work  for  perhaps 
hours  at  a  time  over  some  technical  point.  It  is  con- 
fining, thoughtful,  painstaking  work.  At  your  age  you 
can  searcely  be  sure  whether  or  not  such  work  will  appeal 
to  your  nature;  tastes  of  this  sort  often  develop  during 
one's  college  course. 

Preparation 

The  chemist  must  complete  high  school  and  college 
courses,  specializing  in  chemistry.  Then  the  expert  chem- 
ist should  also  take  a  graduate  course.  The  demand  is 
so  great  that  sometimes  positions  are  offered  before  the 
work  is  completed;  but  the  young  man  who  holds  out  to 
the  end  will  have  the  best  chance  in  the  long  run.  There 
are  no  chemical  schools  pure  and  simple;   but  in  every 


THE    PROFESSIONS  205 

engineering  and  scientific  school  an  abundance  of  chem- 
istry is  taught.  If  this  general  line  of  work  interests  you, 
it  might  be  well  to  take  a  college  course,  specializing  in 
chemistry,  then  by  the  time  you  had  finished  your  four 
years  you  would  know  what  particular  line  you  wanted 
to  follow.  Or  if  you  should  choose  mechanical  engineer- 
ing, agriculture,  mining,  or  medicine,  you  might  decide 
that  you  would  like  to  specialize  in  the  chemical  side  of 
one  of  these. 

Opportunities 

The  great  lure  in  the  field  of  chemistry  is  the  fascina- 
tion of  the  work  and  of  what  it  is  accomplishing.  One 
can  feel  that  he  is  doing  something  that  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary. The  chemist  has  made  good  sanitary  conditions 
possible.  He,  as  much  as  the  physician,  is  contributing 
to  the  general  health  of  the  country.  That  is  of  first  im- 
portance,  but  he  is  also  contributing  to  its  wealth.  One 
great  field  of  his  work  is  the  utilization  of  by-products,  that 
is,  the  discovery  of  some  use  for  what  was  formerly  con- 
sidered waste.  Perhaps  you  have  heard  it  said  that  the 
Chicago  packing  houses  use  everything  about  pigs  except 
their  squeals.  This  is  largely  due  to  the  chemist.  Rocke- 
feller and  Carnegie  both  say  that  they  owe  their  wealth  to 
the  chemist.  Regarding  by-products,  read  the  follow- 
ing quoted  from  a  professor  of  chemistry :  '  The  corn 
stalks  from  glucose  plants  are  used  for  paper-making, 
and  oil  is  extracted  from  the  seed  germ.  Formerly  only 
oil  was  made  from  cotton  seed.  Today  paper,  felt,  fuel, 
stock  feed  and  potash  are  among  the  other  products. 
Skimmed  milk  from  creameries  was  useless  until  the 
chemist  demonstrated  that  the  contained  casein  could  be 
curdled  with  alkali  and  a  dried  product,  soluble  in  water 
and  used  in  paper  sizing  and  interior  decoration,  made 


206  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

therefrom.  It  may  also  be  hardened  for  buttons,  combs, 
piano  keys,  billiard  balls,  etc." 

The  salaries  of  expert  chemists  are  exceptionally  good. 
Some  are  receiving  salaries  of  from  $5000  to  $50,000 
a  year.  The  chemist  is  among  the  highest  paid  men  in 
a  manufacturing  plant,  and  he  is  sometimes  made  super- 
intendent. These  are,  however,  at  the  extreme  top,  and 
the  pay  in  general  varies  according  to  the  special  line  of 
chemistry  taken  up.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  to  have 
a  thorough  training  first,  then  a  chemist  may  begin  at  $75 
or  $100  a  month. 

It  is  said  that  the  most  important  discoveries  are  yet 
to  be  made  by  the  chemist.  In  steel  works,  food  plants, 
leather  goods  and  farm  industries,  the  chemist  is  in 
demand.  Small  wonder  that  we  are  told  that  the  field 
is  unlimited.  Dr.  Wesener,  of  the  Columbus  Labora- 
tories in  Chicago,  says  that  the  world  owes  more  to  the 
chemists  than  to  any  other  one  profession.  lie  may 
have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  his  profession  has 
done  the  most  for  the  betterment  of  mankind.  The  two 
most  important  ways  that  he  mentions  are  "  the  maintain- 
ing of  food  supply  by  reclaiming  exhausted  soil  and  con- 
serving soil  fertility,  and  the  searching  out  of  chemical 
specifics  to  combat  and  cure  disease." 

From  the  industrial  point  of  view  it  is  said  that  three 
fourths  of  the  manufacturing  todav  is  based  on  chemistry. 
Almost  everything  that  we  use  in  daily  life  is  made  what 
it  is  through  this  science.  It  seems  as  if  there  could  be 
no  mistake  in  the  boy  of  ability  going  into  this  line  of 
work;  and  yet  here,  as  everywhere,  he  ought  to  be  sure 
that  he  is  enough  interested  and  of  the  right  temperament. 
One  young  man  of  brilliant  mind  had  been  told  that 
chemistry  was  the  field  of  the  future.  He  spent  several 
years  in  preparation  and  work  and  then  decided  that  the 


THE    PROFESSIONS 


207 


laboratory  work  was  too  confining  and  that  his  nervous 
make-up  demanded  a  life  with  more  variety  and  less  pains- 
taking application.  So  he  decided  to  go  into  law,  but  since 
he  did  not  feel  that  he  could  give  three  more  years  to 
preparation,  he  got  ready  by  spending  his  evenings  and 
vacations  reading  law.  He  was  bright  enough  to  pass 
his  examinations  and  to  get  started,  but  after  six  years 
he  was  still  having  a  bitter  struggle.  Had  he  only  known 
in  the  beginning  that  he  was  not  adapted  to  laboratory 
work,  much  waste  of  time  and  energy  might  have  been 
avoided.  So  the  mere  fact  that  the  pay  is  good  and  that 
there  is  much  interesting  work  to  be  done  does  not  by  any 
means  indicate  that  all  boys  should  try  it. 

We  are  not  accustomed  to  think  of  engineering  as 
woman's  work,  and  at  present  it  does  seem  that  she  will 
have  to  allow  men  the  greater  part  of  that  field.  How- 
ever, some  women  have  accomplished  much  and  have  held 
good  positions  in  the  field  of  chemistry. 

EXERCISES 

1.  What  do  you  understand  by  engineering?  What  do  the  en- 
gineers in  the  army  do? 

2.  Explain  why  the  study  of  mathematics  is  a  necessary  prepara- 
tion for  the  engineer.     How  is  it  connected  witli  building  bridges? 

3.  In  many  large  manufacturing  plants,  there  is  a  department 
especially  for  the  working  out  of  inventions.  Which  of  the  various 
types  of  engineers  mi<jht  be  working  in  these  departments?  Suggest 
some  of  the  kinds  of  things  that  they  might  be  contriving. 

4.  Of  what  value  is  the  knowledge  of  a  foreign  language  to  an  en- 
gineer ? 

5.  Mention  all  of  the  technical  schools  that  you  can.  See  if  you 
can  find  out  what  is  the  particular  advantage  of  each  one. 

6.  Make  a  list  of  the  occupations  that  are  dependent  upon  the  en- 
gineers.    Tell  exactly  in  what  way  this  is  true. 

7.  What  great  engineers  do  you  know  about?  Tell  something  that 
each  one  has  accomplished. 

8.  What  kind  of  an  engineer  do  you  think  has  the  most  desirable 


208  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

work?  Why  do  you  think  this?  If  you  were  going  to  be  that  kind 
of  an  engineer,  tell  just  what  preparation  you  would  need,  and  just 
where  you  would  go  to  get  it.  How  much  would  you  have  to  invest 
oefore  you  were  ready  to  begin  remunerative  work?  Would  it  be 
possible  for  you  to  work  and  study  at  the  same  time?  Just  what 
kind  of  work  would  )ou  expect  to  do  after  you  had  completed  your 
education?  How  would  you  go  to  work  to  get  started  in  your  profes- 
sion? 

9.  Make    a   list   of   the   occupations.     Check   those   that   are   de- 
pendent upon  the  chemist  and  tell  how. 

10.  Do  you  believe  the  statement  made  by  many  people  that  the 
chemist  is  bound  to  be  a  lonely  person?      Defend  your  opinion. 

11.  What  are  some  of  the  by-products  of  the  Stock  Yards  in  Chi- 
cago? 

12.  Do  you  know  of  any  women  engineers?  Which  kinds  of  en- 
gineering would  it  be  possible  for  women  to  go  into?  Is  there  any 
reason  why  they  should  hesitate  to  enter  any  one  of  them?  Consider- 
ing the  way  that  women  have  gone  into  all  sorts  of  manufacturing 
since  1017,  do  you  still  think  there  is  any  limitation  to  their  work 
as  engineers? 

REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Newell,  Frederick  IT.  Engineering  as  a  Career.  D.  Van  Nostrand 
Co.,  1916. 

Douglas,  James  Untechnical  Addresses  on  Technical  Subjects. 
James  Wiley  &  Sons,  1908. 

Williams,  Archibald.     How  it  is  Done.     Sully  &  Kleinteich. 

Collins,  James  H.  Article  on  "  Chemistry  "  in  Saturday  Evening 
Post.     Feb.  10,  1917. 

Magazines:  Electrical  World,  Engineering  Neics,  Western  Engineer- 
ing 

Goddard,  Dwigiit.     Eminent  Engineers.     Hill  Publishing  Co. 


CHAPTER  X 

PERSONAL  SERVICES  AND  PROFESSIONS 
FOR  ENTERTAINMENT 

There  is  a  group  of  occupations  that  we  might  call 
personal  services,  because  they  result  in  a  greater  con- 
venience and  comfort  for  the  individuals  engaged  in  the 
work  of  the  world.  In  our  diagram  we  have  placed  them 
in  the  series  above  the  professions,  for  they  are  needed 
to  help  here  as  well  as  in  what  we  have  called  the  funda- 
mental occupations.  Under  this  head  might  be  classed, 
hotels,  barber  shops,  domestic  arts,  millinery,  dressmak- 
ing, and  tailoring.  Let  us  briefly  discuss  each  one  in 
turn. 

DRESSMAKING,  MILLINERY,  AND  TAILORING 

Naturally,  dressmaking  and  millinery  will  interest  the 
girls  more  than  the  boys.  The  boys  may  be  surprised, 
however,  to  learn  that  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
dressmakers  have  been  men,  and  that  occasionally  we  hear 
of  a  man  who  is  particularly  gifted  in  designing  and  fit- 
ting. On  the  other  hand,  tailoring  is  a  field  that  offers 
many  opportunities  to  boys  and  men.  A  large  propor- 
tion of  this  work  is  now  being  done  in  factories,  and  the 
discussion  belongs  under  that  head.  But  after  all,  we 
know  that  there  is  still  a  big  field  here  for  the  girl  who 

has  the  skill  and  is  interested,  and  that  there  are  countless 

209 


210  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

tailor  shops  in  which  boys  are  going  to  find  opportunity  to 
earn  a  living. 

Qualifications 

1.  Like  the  manufacturing  trades,  this  occupation  re- 
quires manual  skill.  This  means  that  the  hands  should 
be  deft  in  putting  things  together.  Some  people  have  a 
natural  aptitude  for  this  and  there  is  also  much  that  can 
be  learned.  In  both  dressmaking  and  millinery  a  girl 
must  be  quick,  accurate,  and  neat  in  her  work. 

2.  There  should  be  some  inventiveness  or  ingenuity  in 
deciding  how  things  can  be  put  together  in  order  to  get 
the  most  effective  results.  Some  dressmakers  and  mil- 
liners have  manual  skill  and  training  so  that  they  can 
do  exquisite  work  both  in  neat  sewing  and  in  finishing, 
and  besides  this,  they  may  be  able  to  fit  perfectly;  while 
others,  who  are  careless  in  fine  work  and  in  finishing,  have 
the  knack  of  making  a  jaunty  bow,  or  of  draping  a  dress, 
or  irivins:  a  twist  or  turn  to  a  bit  of  trimming  that  makes 
the  whole  hat  or  gown  effective  and  stylish.  The  most 
successful  milliner  or  dressmaker  will  have  both  of  these 
qualities. 

3.  She  should  have  business  ability.  Unless  she  is 
working  for  some  one  else,  she  must  have  the  qualities 
necessary  for  a  salesman,  for  just  as  necessary  as  produc- 
ing a  good  product  is  the  finding  of  customers  for  that 
product.  Along  with  this  comes  the  business  man's  abil- 
ity to  keep  accounts.  Whether  a  dressmaker  or  milliner 
is  working  by  herself  or  whether  she  is  running  an  estab- 
lishment, she  should  be  able  to  keep  accounts,  to  know  how 
much  she  is  spending  for  material,  for  help,  for  tools,  and 
for  rent,  so  that  she  can  tell  whether  certain  expenditures 
are  good  investments,  or  whether  she  would  better  cut 
down  in  this  place  or  charge  more  for  certain  work. 


personal  services  211 

Preparation 

First,  a  progressive  girl  will  realize  that  she  cannot 
learn  this  business  once  for  all.  Styles  in  clothes  are 
continually  changing  and  part  of  a  girl's  training  for  this 
work  consists  in  learning  how  to  keep  abreast  of  the  styles, 
and  even  ahead  of  them  by  constantly  studying  the  most 
up-to-date  shops  in  the  big  cities  to  learn  what  is  being 
worn,  and  by  studying  the  fashion  journals,  especially 
those  from  New  York  City  and  from  Paris,  to  learn  what 
the  styles  will  be  six  months  from  now. 

But  there  are  two  ways  of  learning  the  trade  in  the 
first  place.  A  girl  can  enter  a  large  establishment  at  a 
low  salary  with  the  understanding  that  she  is  to  learn  the 
trade  from  the  bottom  up.  She  must  be  careful  however 
in  making  the  arrangement  to  provide  that  she  will  in 
reality  learn  the  trade  and  will  not  be  kept  indefinitely 
lining  hats  or  sewing  buttons  and  hooks  and  eyes  on 
garments.  If  she  gets  work  with  a  private  dressmaker 
or  milliner  she  has  a  surer  opportunity  of  learning  every 
detail  of  the  business. 

The  other  way  of  learning  is  to  go  to  a  school  of  cut- 
ting and  designing.  This  is  probably  the  best  and  quick- 
est way  of  making  progress,  but  it  is  also  more  expensive, 
as  the  learner  is  paying  tuition  rather  than  earning  even  a 
small  wage.  However,  there  are  splendid  schools  of  this 
sort.  The  girl  learns  not  only  the  most  accurate  but  the 
quickest  way  of  cutting.  She  learns  how  to  fit  and  to 
design  both  from  a  scientific  and  from  an  artistic  stand- 
point. She  learns  the  various  kinds  of  stitches  and  where 
they  should  be  used.  She  also  becomes  acquainted  with 
many  sorts  of  garments,  whereas,  if  she  were  learning 
with  a  dressmaker,  her  field  would  be  limited.  In  a 
school  she  will  probably  be  taught  tailoring  and  other 


212  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

special  branches  of  the  trade  that  would  be  useful  in  run- 
ning an  establishment  of  her  own. 

Again,  a  bright  girl  may  get  a  very  good  start  from  the 
courses  given  in  high  school.  Here  besides  the  courses  in 
dressmaking  and  millinery,  the  course  in  drawing  will  be 
helpful  in  drafting  patterns  which  involve  the  propor- 
tions of  the  human  figure.  The  art  course  will  train  her 
also  in  harmony  of  color. 

Opportunities 

The  following  scale  of  wages  is  taken  from  a  survey  that 
was  made  of  the  dressmaking  and  millinery  shops  in  Cleve- 
land, Ohio.  It  will  give  you  some  idea  of  the  opportuni- 
ties in  this  line,  but  you  must  remember  that  the  high 
school  graduate  who  has  taken  what  training  she  can  get 
there,  has  a  chance  of  advancing  much  more  rapidly  than 
the  girl  who  has  not  had  this  training. 

Beginners  or  apprentices  run  errands,  learn  to  sew  on 
buttons,  make  button  holes,  etc. 

In  two  years,  they  may  become  "  helpers " ;  and  in 
three  or  four  years,  "  makers  '•  who  are  responsible  for 
getting  the  garment  put  together;  then  in  three  months 
or  more,  they  may  become  "  drapers,"  who  plan  and  drape 
the  garment  on  a  form  over  a  lining  that  has  been  fitted 
to  the  customer. 

Now,  as  to  pay,  the  beginners  get  from  $2.00  to  $4.00 
a  week,  the  helpers,  from  $6.00  to  $9.00  a  week,  the 
makers,  from  $10.00  to  $12.00;  and  the  drapers,  from 
$18.00  to  $20.00.  Those  who  get  the  higher  wages  are 
usually  paid  the  additional  amount  for  supervision. 

In  the  millinery  trade  the  scale  of  wages  is  a  little  dif- 
ferent, the  trimmers  and  designers  getting  considerably 
more  than  the  other  workers.  The  average  maker  gets 
from  $4.00  to  $15.00  a  week,  while  the  trimmer  gets  from 


PERS0NA1.    SERVICES 


213 


$15.00  to  $50.00.  The  rise  is  very  slow  and  the  trade 
is  decidedly  seasonal.  Employers  advise  girls  not  to  en- 
ter this  work  unless  they  can  climb  very  quickly  to  the 
top.  In  fact,  unless  a  girl  shows  signs  of  being  able  to  ad- 
vance very  rapidly  they  will  not  take  one  who  must  sup- 
port herself. 

This  is  the  condition  in  one  large  city  and  the  pay 
and  opportunities  seem  to  be  similar  in  other  places. 

In  either  of  these  lines  a  woman  may  go  into  business 
entirely  by  herself.  An  ordinary  seamstress  makes  $1.50 
a  day  and  up,  while  a  first  class  dressmaker  makes  about 
$3.00  a  day.  She  also  has  the  opportunity  of  buying  her 
materials  at  a  discount  and  she  may  increase  her  income 
by  selling  these. 

This  is  a  field  which  is  by  no  means  overcrowded. 
In  the  busy  season,  aside  from  the  opportunities 
in  the  large  establishments,  the  demand  for  first  class  dress- 
makers and  milliners  is  greater  than  the  supply.  In  al- 
most every  town,  the  best  dressmakers  find  their  time  very 
much  overcrowded.  This  often  leads  to  starting  a  shop, 
and  gradually  hiring  more  and  more  help.  Of  course 
this  means  a  greater  investment  of  money  and  consequently 
implies  some  business  ability.  Millinery  shops  belong 
more  in  the  class  with  stores  and  demand  the  ability  to 
sell  goods. 

In  both  of  these  lines  there  is  the  great  fascination  that 
comes  from  creating  things,  from  seeing  a  piece  of  work 
well  done,  and  from  giving  free  scope  to  originality  and 
artistic  ability.  As  in  other  lines,  a  woman  here  may 
develop  some  specialty;  for  instance,  one  woman  who 
started  with  a  very  small  beginning,  found  that  she  had 
a  talent  for  designing  handsome  gowns  and  particularly 
for  buying  handsome  laces  and  arranging  them  in  an  artis- 
tic way.     In  this  way  she  made  a  small  fortune  for  her- 


214  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

self.  A  milliner  specialized  in  all  sorts  of  automobile  hats 
and  was  very  successful.  Another  woman  specialized 
more  narrowly,  making  nothing  but  baby  jackets,  and  was 
finally  able  to  hire  a  shop  down  town  and  earn  a  good 
income. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  only  fair  to  say  that  this  is  very 
tiring,  nervous  work.  Also  the  frequent  encounters  with 
unreasonable,  fussy  customers  require  a  good  deal  of  poise. 
However,  there  are  disadvantages  in  every  occupation,  and 
if  a  girl  loves  her  work  they  sink  into  a  minor  place. 

As  for  the  boys,  the  chief  opening  is  in  the  line  of  tail- 
oring. The  United  States  Census  Report  of  1910  shows 
163,795  men  tailors,  and  40,813  women  tailors.  Tn  the 
clothing  industries  are  95,715  men  and  48,892  women. 
This  seems  to  indicate  that  there  are  still  opportunities  in 
the  tailoring  business.  The  great  need  of  rapid  produc- 
tion of  uniforms  for  the  soldiers  during  the  Civil  War 
caused  a  sudden  growth  of  clothing  factories.  The  de- 
mand for  ready-made  garments  is  constantly  increas- 
ing, but  it  will  be  long  before  the  individual  tailor  will 
be  replaced  entirely.  Many  people  are  not  altogether 
normal  in  their  proportions  and  so  require  suits  that  are 
fitted  especially  to  them.  Many,  also,  can  afford  to  pay 
a  little  more  for  the  sake  of  the  superior  style  and  work- 
manship that  a  really  expert  tailor  can  give.  The  boy 
who  learns  his  trade  in  a  tailor's  shop  and  aims  to  own  an 
establishment  some  day,  must  acquire  more  than  mere 
skill  in  cutting  and  fitting.  He  must  become  acquainted 
with  various  kinds  of  materials,  must  learn  how  to  buy  in 
the  most  economical  way,  and,  particularly  if  he  contem- 
plates tailoring  for  women  as  well  as  for  men,  he  must 
cultivate  an  artistic  sense. 

Unfortunately   this   occupation    is    decidedly   seasonal. 
For  about  half  of  the  year  the  work  must  be  pushed  at  a 


PEKSONAI,    SERVICES  215 

tremendous  rate,  while  during  the  remaining  months  there 
is  a  lull  in  operations.  Another  disadvantage  is  that  the 
man  who  aims  to  become  a  designer  and  contrives  new 
styles,  cannot  get  a  copyright  for  his  work.  This  par- 
tially explains  the  constantly  changing  styles ;  for  as  soon 
as  an  attractive  style  appears,  it  is  copied  by  many  tailors, 
and  so  the  designer  must  develop  something  new.  In  the 
shops  the  best  pressers  are  paid  $18  a  week,  the  cutters  $25. 
This  is  mechanical  work  that  can  be  learned  very  quickly. 
The  management  of  a  shop  requires  executive  ability 
and  ingenuity.  It  is  said  that  frequently  tailors  are  poor 
cost  accountants,  and  that  this  explains  why  many  of 
them  fail.  Special  systems  of  accounting  have  been 
worked  out  for  the  tailor,  so  that  the  boy  who  is  inter- 
ested may  learn  the  business  in  a  scientific  way.  An  idea 
of  the  opportunity  may  be  had  from  the  fact  that  many 
of  the  employers  began  as  employees.  Most  of  these  are 
the  sons  of  immigrants. 

DOMESTIC  ARTS 

Here  again  is  an  occupation  in  which  girls  are  par- 
ticularly interested,  although  as  in  the  case  of  dressmaking 
some  of  the  finest  workmen  along  these  lines  are  men. 
Because  service  in  the  household  has  been  given  to  girls 
with  little  or  no  education,  who  received  small  pay  and 
had  few  privileges,  the  occupation  has  fallen  into  a  cer- 
tain disrepute.  But  conditions  are  changing.  The  girl 
who  must  go  to  work  before  she  has  finished  high  school 
is  still  likely  to  go  into  a  factory  or  to  clerk  in  a  store 
with  very  small  wages  and  without  much  hope  of  advance- 
ment. On  the  other  hand  the  idea  of  domestic  work  has 
changed,  and  as  we  look  into  it  we  shall  find  that  it  includes 
a  wide  range  of  occupations  and  that  it  is  likely  to  offer 


216  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

opportunities  to  many  girls,  not,  however,  as  household 
servants  in  its  former  interpretation. 

Qualifications 

The  qualifications  are  many  and  varied  according  to 
the  special  branch  specified;  but  in  general  we  may  say 
that  they  are, 

1.  An  ability  to  manipulate  and  to  do  things  quickly, 
and  with  the  fewest  possible  motions. 

2.  The  power  of  organization  and  management. 

Preparation 

A  girl  may  learn  to  be  a  competent  cook  by  working 
with  an  experienced,  capable  house-keeper,  who  is  willing 
to  take  the  time  to  teach  her.  However,  for  the  most  de- 
sirable positions,  there  should  be  scientific  training  where 
there  are  laboratory  facilities.  Here,  a  girl  not  only  learns 
what  to  do  and  what  results  to  expect,  but  she  learns  why 
she  does  each  thing,  and  why  certain  products  are  failures. 
Thus  much  time  and  material  are  saved.  Also  she  learns 
what  foods  are  the  most  nourishing  and  digestible,  and 
the  most  economical  ways  of  preparing  them.  Many  high 
schools  now  have  courses  which  give  much  of  this  train- 
ing. If  a  girl  would  go  beyond  that,  there  are  splendid 
courses  in  some  of  the  universities.  Then  there  are  in 
some  cities  special  schools  of  domestic  science.  From  the 
point  of  view  of  management,  a  good  course  in  bookkeep- 
ing and  in  economics  is  most  desirable.  Cost  accounting 
and  scientific  management,  which  are  considered  so  neces- 
sary for  business  men,  would  put  all  of  this  sort  of  work 
on  a  much  more  efficient  basis. 


PERSONAL    SERVICES  217 


Opportunities 


A  girl  without  special  training  may  go  into  domestic 
service  and  make  about  $5.00  a  week  besides  her  living 
expenses.  But  she  has  almost  no  chance  of  advancing  be- 
yond this.  What,  then,  are  some  of  the  positions  in  which 
a  girl  with  training  can  find  desirable  work?  If  she 
becomes  expert  she  may  become  a  cook  in  a  large  private 
home,  or  in  some  institution.  She  would  clear  about 
$50.00  a  month  and  her  work  would  be  pleasant.  In 
these  places  there  is  usually  a  girl  to  do  much  of  the 
routine  work;  such  as,  washing  the  dishes,  and  prepar- 
ing the  vegetables.  So  that  the  cook  is  doing  skilled 
work  that  requires  special  preparation. 

Or  she  may  be  engaged  as  a  housekeeper.  In  many 
wealthy  homes,  there  is  some  reason  why  the  mistress  is 
unable  or  is  not  inclined  to  run  her  home,  or  perhaps  a 
widower  is  left  with  a  family  of  children  and  must  hire 
some  one  to  take  the  place  of  home-maker.  In  such  posi- 
tions, there  are  usually  pleasant  surroundings,  plenty  of 
help,  and  often  a  social  standing,  the  same  as  that  of 
the  family  in  which  she  works.  Or  she  might  get  a 
similar  position  in  an  institution  or  in  a  girls'  dormitory 
at  some  college.  These  are  administrative  positions  and 
require  executive  ability.  There  is  the  responsibility  of 
running  an  establishment,  of  directing  other  people  in 
their  work,  of  seeing  that  financially  the  business  is  well 
managed  so  that  expenses  come  within  the  allowed  amount. 
Other  examples  of  this  sort  are  superintendents  of  hotels, 
hospitals,  summer  resorts,  and  managers  of  clubs. 

An  expert  cook  who  understands  thoroughly  the  science 
of  food  values,  and  all  connected  therewith,  may  become 
a  dietitian,  in  a  hospital  or  institution. 

When  a  girl  has  mastered  the  art  of  preparing  food 


218  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

in  an  attractive  way  and  of  managing  expenses  well,  with 
a  little  capita],  there  is  a  chance  of  her  making  a  success 
in  a  tea  room  or  food  shop.  Some  women  have 
made  a  reputation  by  furnishing  some  one  article,  such 
as,  pickles,  pastry,  jelly,  or  salad,  for  a  high  class 
restaurant  or  tea  room. 

When  you  consider  these  opportunities,  and  also  that 
many  girls  find  this  sort  of  work  attractive,  that  if  they 
marry  later,  it  has  only  made  them  the  more  competent 
to  manage  their  own  homes,  and  that  much  of  it  is  work 
that  can  be  carried  on  after  marriage,  it  seems  as  if  it 
would  pay  to  consider  it  carefully.  Many  of  these  op- 
portunities put  a  woman  into  a  position  to  care  for  the 
well-being  of  other  people,  and  there  are  many  women 
who  can  be  satisfied  in  no  other  way. 

HOTELS  AND  KESTAUKANTS 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  hotels  and  restaurants  belong  to 
the  group  of  occupations  that  are  of  service  to  the  others. 
According  to  the  11)10  census,  there  were  04,594  hotel 
managers  in  this  country,  and  60,832  who  ran  restaurants 
of  one  sort  or  another.  Of  these,  24,750  are  women. 
This  does  not  count  all  the  other  employees  in  such  places; 
many  of  whom,  however,  we  discuss  under  some  other 
group.  They  would  come  under  the  head  of  domestic 
arts,  telephone  and  telegraph  operators,  clerks  and  book- 
keepers, stenographers,  and  others.  We  shall,  in  this 
place,  confine  our  discussion  to  managers  and  their  as- 
sistants. 

Qualifications 

1.  You  yourself  will  probably  say  immediately  that 
the  first  essential  is  executive  ability.     There  are  many 


PERSONAL    SERVICES  219 

departments  to  be  managed,  and  as  in  any  other  under- 
taking success  or  failure  is  likely  to  depend  upon  this 
quality  in  the  man  at  the  helm. 

2.  Then  there  must  be  the  qualities  of  the  salesman. 
The  hotel  manager  must  offer  the  right  sort  of  goods  in 
the  right  place ;  that  is,  he  must  not  try  to  run  a  fashion- 
able city  hotel  in  a  small  town,  or  to  run  a  cheap  lunch 
counter  in  a  fashionable  district.  He  must  know  how  to 
make  what  he  has  to  offer  attractive  to  his  patrons  and 
to  advertise  so  as  to  bring  in  many  people.  And,  as  we 
have  seen,  all  these  abilities  are  the  marks  of  a  good 
salesman. 

3.  Perhaps  more  than  in  any  other  line  the  man  in 
this  business  must  have  the  quality  of  courtesy.  lie  is 
obliged  to  serve  people  of  all  sorts  of  queer  dispositions, 
and  he  must  be  tactful  in  catering  to  their  little  whims  and 
unreasonable  demands.  His  great  object  is  to  make  his 
patron's  surroundings  comfortable  and  pleasant,  and 
the  more  he  does  this  the  more  likely  he  will  be  to  suc- 
ceed. 

Preparation 

One  does  not  go  to  a  technical  school  for  this  business ; 
instead,  he  makes  a  thorough  study  of  everything  that 
has  been  done  in  this  line.  A  general  education,  at  least 
that  of  the  high  school,  is  essential  for  its  broad  founda- 
tion to  enable  the  manager  to  meet  and  converse  with  all 
sorts  of  people.  A  course  in  accounting  would  be  most 
desirable.  It  is  said  that  no  other  business  could  thrive 
with  the  tremendous  waste  that  takes  place  in  hotels  and 
restaurants.  Cost  accounting,  which  has  received  such 
an  impetus  lately,  would  help  much  in  determining  where 
the  loss  came.  Recently  a  banking  house  —  a  business 
which  we  feel  is  made  up  of  accounts  —  hired  a  cost  ac- 


220  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

countant  to  see  just  what  each  part  of  their  business  was 
costing  them.  They  found  that  in  some  lines  they  were 
spending  more  than  they  were  making,  and  from  this  they 
were  able  to  make  valuable  adjustments.  How  much  more 
would  such  a  system  help  in  hotels,  where  such  an  immense 
amount  of  money  is  spent  on  food,  on  linen,  and  for 
help !  Beyond  this  preparation,  a  prospective  manager 
would  probably  begin  in  some  one  of  the  lower  positions, 
and  while  he  was  getting  points  on  the  business  would  be 
saving  his  money  until  he  had  enough  capital  to  become 
a  proprietor. 

Opportunities 

As  opportunity  here  means  not  obtaining  a  position  but 
owning  a  business,  it  depends  largely  upon  the  ability  and 
capital  of  the  person  concerned.  Of  course,  in  the  larg- 
est hotels,  there  are  salaried  positions  such  as  managers, 
for  when  one  man  owns  a  number  of  hotels  or  restaurants, 
he  must  employ  a  number  of  managers.  One  man  is 
in  business  for  himself  as  a  "  doctor  for  sick  hotels." 
When  he  hears  of  a  hotel  that  has  failed,  and  there  are 
a  good  many  of  these,  he  plans  to  buy  this,  find  out  what 
the  trouble  is  and  go  about  making  it  pay.  He  seems  to 
have  a  genius  for  this.  Then  when  he  has  made  it  a 
paying  business,  he  sells  out  and  looks  out  for  another. 

MUSICIANS,  ARTISTS,  ACTORS 

We  have  called  these  "  professions  for  entertainment," 
and  they  serve  all  other  occupations;  for  without  the 
culture  and  pleasure  that  men  and  women  derive  from 
them,  life  would  be  a  pretty  dull  affair,  and  very  mo- 
notonous at  times.  They  serve  to  make  life  richer  and 
more  beautiful.  The  artist  also  frequently  works  in  co- 
operation  with   the  more  material   occupations;   for   in- 


PERSONAL    SERVICES  221 

stance,  the  architect,  the  illustrator,  the  cartoonist,  the 
landscape  gardener,  the  photographer,  and  many  others 
apply  their  art  to  very  practical  uses. 

Qualifications 

One  statement  may  be  made  of  all  occupations  in  this 
group ;  namely,  that  it  is  useless  to  start  out  unless  one  is 
certain  of  a  decided  talent.  That  is,  musicians,  artists, 
and  actors,  just  as  poets,  seem  to  be  born,  not  made.  Not 
that  the  same  qualities  are  present  in  all,  but  they  are  so 
very  pronounced  that  this  may  very  safely  be  said :  If  you 
have  taken  advantage  of  all  the  opportunities  in  these 
lines  given  in  high  school,  either  you  will  be  sure  that 
you  have  not  a  talent,  or  you  will  at  least  have  a  strong- 
suspicion  that  you  have.  In  the  latter  case  it  would  be 
well  to  consult  with  some  expert  in  the  line  in  which  you 
think  you  have  an  aptitude,  and  get  his  advice  as  to  whether 
you  have  a  talent  that  is  worth  cultivation. 

Preparation 

Of  course  these  professions  require  very  thorough  and 
special  preparation.  There  are  private  teachers  and  spe- 
cial schools  for  all  of  them.  These  are  easy  to  find,  but  if 
one  is  to  make  a  profession  of  his  art,  it  would  pay  to  find 
the  very  best.  There  are  schools  of  music  and  art  in 
connection  with  most  colleges  and  universities,  and  there 
are  special  schools  in  the  large  cities.  Those  who  have 
made  the  very  most  of  their  profession,  have  usually  spent 
two  or  three  years  in  Europe.  But  as  in  other  professions, 
one  must  study  as  long  as  one  practices  his  art.  One  fa- 
mous musician  said :  "  If  I  neglect  to  practise  one  day  I 
know  it,  if  I  neglect  it  two  or  three  days  everyone  knows 
it."  There  are  changes  and  improvements  in  art  and  in 
acting  as  in  everything  and  those  engaged  in  that  work  must 


222  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

keep  up  with  the  advances.  There  are  schools  of  acting 
and  besides  that  most  actors  start  out  as  pupils  in  some  good 
company.  That  is,  they  are  necessarily  pupils,  because  the 
training  is  very  severe.  The  man  who  is  putting  on  a  play 
will  not  run  the  risk  of  having  any  defects  in  his  perform- 
ance for  the  sake  of  anyone's  feelings,  so  one  who  starts  out 
as  an  actor  must  make  up  his  mind  to  endure  a  good  deal 
of  frank  criticism. 

Opportunities 

The  period  of  struggle  and  poverty  for  people  in  these 
professions  is  proverbial.  One  must  be  of  the  very  first 
rank  and  others  must  know  that  he  is  before  he  will  be 
in  demand.  But  for  those  who  are  really  gifted  and  pre- 
pared, there  are  many  sorts  of  positions.  The  musician 
may  go  into  concert  work,  he  may  give  lessons,  or  he  may 
go  into  an  orchestra  and  play  on  the  many  occasions  that 
are  now  demanding  such  music.  Organists  and  pianists 
can  get  positions  in  churches  and  in  places  where  there 
are  large  assemblies. 

We  have  mentioned  the  opportunity  of  the  artist  as 
illustrator.  You  can  see  by  looking  at  the  cartoons  in 
the  daily  and  weekly  papers  that  there  is  a  place  for  the 
artist  who  also  has  a  nimble  wit.  These  have  an  oppor- 
tunity for  a  wide  influence;  for  the  picture  often  makes 
an  impression  where  the  printed  word  fails;  and  many 
absorb  the  pictures  who  do  not  take  the  time  to  read. 
The  clever  illustrator  can  draw  a  good  salary  from  some 
publisher;  and  there  are  many  forms  of  commercial  work ; 
such  as  coloring  slides,  designing  book  covers,  place  cards, 
and  Christmas  cards. 

Lena  Ashwell,  the  actress,  in  telling  of  the  opportuni- 
ties, in  her  profession,  does  not  paint  an  outlook  that 
seems  very  promising. 


PERSONAL    SERVICES  223 

It  is  difficult  to  give  any  statement  of  the  income  from 
these  professions  as  it  varies  so  greatly ;  but  it  is  per- 
haps safe  to  say  that  there  is  not  much  chance  except 
for  those  of  unusual  talent.  On  the  other  hand  there 
is  an  especial  joy  for  those  who  have  talent  and  are  able 
to  make  their  living  in  that  way.  They  love  their  work 
as  perhaps  those  of  no  other  occupation  do. 

EXERCISES 

1.  Why  flo  most  people  prefer  a  man  to  a  woman  tailor? 

2.  Why  should  dressmaking  belong  especially  to  women? 

3.  What  has  cut  down  the  dressmakers'  trade? 

4.  Is  the  constant  change  in  styles  an  advantage  or  a  disadvantage 
to  tho  dressmaker,  the  tailor  and  the  milliner? 

5.  Which  do  you  think  would  be  better  for  a  girl:  to  learn  dress- 
making or  millinery  in  a  special  school  for  that  purpose,  or  to  get 
a  place  to  work  with  a  dressmaker  or  milliner  or  in  an  establish- 
ment?    Give  as  many  arguments  as  you  can  on  both  sides. 

6.  How  would  a  boy  start  out  to  learn  the  tailoring  business? 

7.  An  ambitious  young  dressmaker,  after  learning  her  trade, 
studied  in  the  Art  Institute  in  Chicago.  What  could  she  find  there 
that  would  help  her  in  her  work? 

8.  Millinery  is  decidedly  a  seasonal  trade.  What  is  meant  by 
this? 

9.  What  do  tailors  do  besides  merely  making  suits? 

10.  What  is  meant  by  poise?  Explain  how  it  is  needed  in  all  three 
of  the  lines  of  work  mentioned  here. 

11.  If  you  were  planning  to  be  either  a  milliner,  a  dressmaker,  or 
a  tailor,  how  would  you  prepare  for  your  work? 

12.  Some  time  ago  a  magazine  published  a  long  argument  to  prove 
that  girls  should  go  into  domestic  service  rather  than  into  factory 
work.     Give  as  many  arguments  as  you  can  on  both  sides. 

13.  In  what  sort  of  places  are  men  employed  as  cooks  and  chefs? 
Are  they  more  capable  here  than  women? 

14.  What  is  the  connection  between  chemistry  and  cooking? 

15.  What  is  meant  by  the  Smith-Hughes  Act?  On  account  of  the 
provisions  of  this  act,  many  of  the  universities  have  established 
houses  in  which  a  certain  number  of  the  girls  live  in  relays  for  about 


224  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

a  month  at  a  time.     Find  out  what  the  object  of  this  is  and  what 
they  do  there. 

16.  What  is  meant  by  the  American  and  the  European  plan  in 
hotels  and  restaurants?  Which  do  you  think  would  be  more  profit- 
able for  the  proprietor! 

17.  What  is  meant  by  "table  d'hote"  and  "a  la  carte"  service? 
Which  is  more  likely  to  help  in  carrying  out  the  plans  of  the  Food 
Administration  in  war  times? 

18.  In  what  way  is  there  a  waste  in  the  hotel  business? 

19.  Mention  the  names  of  as  many  illustrators  as  you  can. 

20.  Are  there  any  productions  of  real  artists  in  your  community? 
Can  you  think  of  any  place  in  which  an  artist's  work  might  be  valu- 
able? 

21.  What  peculiar  risks  do  musicians  run?  What  kinds  of  insur- 
ance do  they  have  to  take  out? 

22.  Why  are  so  many  girls  and  some  boys  eager  to  go  on  the 
stage?     What  kind  of  lives  are  they  likely  to  live  if  they  do  go? 

23.  Which  sort  of  art  do  you  think  benefits  future  generations 
most  ? 

24.  Why  is  the  destruction  of  cathedrals  by  the  Germans  considered 
such  a  terrible  crime? 

25.  Can  you  explain  why  it  is  that  so  often  artists  scarcely  make 
a  living? 


'6 


REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Bulletins:  locations  for  Boston  Girls.  The  Girls  Trade  Education 
League.     Boston,   1911. 

Bulletins:  Vocations  for  Boys.  The  Vocation  Bureau  of  Boston, 
1916. 

Francke,  Marie.     Opportunities  for  Women  in  Domestic  Science. 

System  for  January,   1!)17.     "A  Doctor  for  Sick  Hotels." 

Allinson,  May.  Dressmaking  as  a  Trade  for  Women  in  Massachu- 
setts.    Washington,  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics.     191G. 

Watkins,  Edward.     The  Secret  of  Successful  Tailoring. 

Beeman,  Claud  V.     Cost  and  Selling  Price  for  Merchant  Tailors. 

Bulletins:     144,  145,  147.     Washington,  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics. 


CHAPTER  XI 
PERSONAL  QUALIFICATIONS 

(ESSENTIAL  TO  ALL  OCCUPATIONS) 

We  have  discussed  so  far  some  of  the  opportunities  in 
various  lines  of  business  such  as  selling,  manufacturing, 
banking,  transportation,  and  the  professions,  and  some  of 
the  specific  qualifications  that  are  required  in  each  line. 
There  are,  however,  some  personal  qualifications  that 
are  fundamental  to  success  anywhere.  These  fundamental 
qualifications  may  be  grouped  under  the  headings:  Per- 
sonality, Health,  Intellect,  Character,  Friends.  In  fact, 
a  person  who  looks  well  after  these  essentials  may  succeed 
in  any  of  a  vast  number  of  occupations. 

PERSONALITY 

By  personality  is  meant  the  combination  of  voice, 
dress,  manner  and  disposition  which  marks  you  as 
an  individual.  These  are  characteristics  some  of  which 
you  inherit  and  some  of  which  you  have  learned  in  the 
home  and  in  society.  The  point  to  be  specially  considered 
is  that  when  one  starts  at  it  early  enough  in  life  it  is  pos- 
sible to  change  these  things  to  a  very  large  degree.  That 
is,  people  from  seventeen  to  twenty-three  or  four  are  in 
a  period  that  we  call,  in  psychology,  the  plastic  period. 
They  may,  as  it  were,  shape  or  mold  themselves  to  almost 
any  desired  ideal.  If,  then,  your  ideal  is  set  upon  cer- 
tain desirable  things  in  the   matter   of   personality  you 

can  accomplish  these  things  now.     A  little  later  in  life, 

"225 


226  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

when  habit  becomes  fixed  upon  yon,  it  will  be  very  diffi- 
cult to  change  these  habits  and  yon  will  very  probably  go 
through  life  with  the  same  personality,  either  attractive 
or  repelling,  which  yon  have  at  that  time.  Let  us  con- 
sider in  detail  some  of  the  elements  that  go  to  make  up 
personality. 

1.  One  of  the  first  things  that  people  will  note  about 
you  is  your  voice.  Do  you  ever  stop  to  consider  the  quality 
of  your  voice  in  conversation  or  in  talking  over  the 
phone  ?  Is  your  voice  pleasant,  clear,  and  modulated,  or 
is  it  harsh,  nasal,  and  uncontrolled?  Elihu  Bnrritt  says 
of  the  voice,  Watch  it  day  by  day  as  a  pearl  of  great 
price,  for  it  will  be  worth  more  to  you  in  the  days  to 
come  than  the  best  pearl  hid  in  the  sea.  A  kind  voice  is 
joy,  like  a  lark's  song,  to  a  hearth  at  home.  Train  it  to 
sweet  tones  now  and  it  will  keep  in  tune  through  life." 
The  voice  has  much  to  do  with  the  impression  a  person 
makes  on  first  acquaintance. 

2.  The  second  thing  that  is  instantaneously  noted  is 
the  condition  of  your  dress  and  person.  This  is  a  pretty 
intimate  matter,  but  it  will  pay  to  look  it  squarely  in  the 
face.  For  instance,  is  your  dress  neat  and  appropriate  for 
the  work  you  have  to  do?  Yon  must  be  neither  slouchy 
nor  overdressed  for  the  work  on  hand.  One's  person  must 
be  well  kept;  hands  clean,  hair  combed,  shoes  clean. 
These  are  matters  which  make  a  very  decided  difference  in 
the  success  of  one  who  deals  with  the  public.  A  cus- 
tomer is  either  repelled  or  attracted  by  the  neatness 
or  appropriateness  of  the  salesperson's  dress.  For 
this  reason  and  because  everyone's  taste  and  judgment 
in  this  matter  cannot  be  trusted,  some  stores  insist  that 
their  clerks  wear  only  black  and  white;  and  some  make 
stipulations  as  to  the  manner  of  dressing  the  hair.  Since 
big  business  men  consider  these  matters  so  important  it  is 


PERSONAL    QUALIFICATIONS  227 

surely  worth  our  while  to  give  some  attention  to  them. 
One  man,  who  employs  many  people,  always  makes  a 
point  of  observing  the  hair  and  shoes  of  the  applicants,  as 
he  considers  these  an  index  of  a  candidate's  iitness.  All 
this  may  seem  superficial  and,  of  course,  certain  other 
qualifications  are  more  important,  but  on  first  acquaintance 
people  are  judged  by  their  personality,  and  voice  and  dress 
have  much  to  do  with  this. 

3.  After  the  impression  made  by  the  general  appear- 
ance and  the  tone  of  voice,  will  come  the  judgment  formed 
by  your  manner  of  meeting  people.  In  training  yourself 
to  an  attractive  manner,  there  are  three  or  four  things  to 
remember.  The  first  important  asset  is  courtesy.  Here 
are  some  of  the  things  that  successful  business  men  have 
said  aboiit  its  value:  Mr.  George  Whelan,  the  president 
of  a  company  operating  six  hundred  separate  stores,  puts 
the  following  estimate  upon  courtesy :  "  Courtesy  is  the 
cheapest  commodity  in  the  world  and  yet  the  most  far- 
reaching  in  its  effect.  Incidentally,  courtesy  is  the  basis 
of  good  retail  service.  I  have  laid  down  the  rule  that 
not  only  should  every  salesman  say  l  Thank  you '  to 
every  customer,  but  also  he  should  say  it  as  if  he  meant  it. 
We  have  spent  fifty  thousand  dollars  hammering  this 
idea  in.  So  thoroughly  do  I  believe  in  it  that  one  day 
last  year  I  sent  the  following  telegram  to  every  clerk  in 
our  employ :  '  Did  you  say  "  Thank  you  "  to  every  cus- 
tomer you  waited  on  today  ? ' ■  " 

The  following  is  quoted  from  a  series  of  cards  which 
a  railroad  company  sends  every  month  to  its  employees: 
"  There  is  only  one  time  to  be  courteous  —  that's  always. 
The  time  when  it  is  hardest  to  be  courteous  is  the  time  when 
it  is  most  needed.  Strong  men  can  always  afford  to  be 
gentle.  Only  the  weak  are  intent  on  giving  as  good  as 
they  get.     Loss  of  temper  gains  nothing.     Remember  your 


228  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

greatest  asset  is  courtesy.  Try  it.  Every  smile  of  satis- 
faction that  you  bring  to  a  patron's  face  is  a  cash  asset 
to  us  and  to  you.  Cultivate  courtesy  for  what  it  means 
to  you." 

.  Just  one  more  quotation,  this  time  from  a  successful 
banker:  "I  do  not  speak  idl}-  in  praise  of  politeness, 
for  out  of  the  experience  of  56  years  in  the  banking  busi- 
ness it  has  been  borne  in  upon  me  almost  daily  that 
courtesy  is  one  of  the  prime  factors  in  the  building  up  of 
a  career.  It  is  the  hallmark  of  a  gentleman  and  of  the 
keen  man  of  affairs." 

There  is  no  question  of  the  value  of  politeness  in  busi- 
ness. As  great  a  corporation  as  the  Chicago  and  North 
Western  Kailroad  lays  great  stress  upon  its  necessity  over 
the  telephone  where  there  is  a  great  tendency  to  be  abrupt 
and  by  quick,  short  answers  to  cause  offense  unintention- 
ally. This  is  best  illustrated  by  a  few  examples  of  phone 
conversations  given  in  the  North  Western'Magazine: 

"Here  is  a  sample  of  all  too  common  impolite  use  of 
the  telephone:  A  call  has  come  to  the  office  of  Mr. 
Brown.  The  caller  is  answered  like  this:  '  Hello!  No. 
You've  got  the  wrong  office.'  (Business  of  slamming  the 
telephone  on  the  hook.) 

"  It  appears  the  caller  wanted  the  office  of  Mr.  Jones. 
The  proper  and  polite  handling  of  this  case  would  be 
something  like  this: 

"  '  This  is  Mr.  Brown's  office.  ISTo,  you  should  have 
Mr.  Jones'  department :  please  hold  the  wire  a  moment 
and  I'll  try  to  get  it  for  you.  There's  Mr.  Jones.  Sorry 
you  had  this  trouble.' 

"  Another  sample  of  something  to  be  avoided,  because 
it  is  particularly  irritating,  in  which  both  sides  "of  the 
telephone  conversation  are  given : 

"Call— 'Is  this  Mr.  Smith's  office?' 


PERSONAL    QUALIFICATIONS  229 

"  Answer  — '  Yes.' 

"  Call  — '  May  I  speak  with  Mr.  Smith  ? ' 

"  Answer  — '  Who  is  this  ?  '  (or  '  Who  are  you  ? ') 

"  This  brings  out  one  of  the  most  exasperating  things 
in  the  whole  category  of  telephone  irritations.  The  caller 
wishes  to  speak  directly  with  Mr.  Smith.  Naturally  he 
is  annoyed  to  have  some  subordinate  —  perhaps  the  office 
boy  —  ask  in  anything  but  a  polite  way  who  he  is.  It 
may  be  necessary  to  protect  Mr.  Smith  from  inconsequen- 
tials  calls  by  telephone,  but  this  may  be  done  with  polite- 
ness and  diplomacy.  Let  us  suggest  a  much  better  way 
to  secure  the  desired  protection: 

"  Call  — '  Is  this  Mr.  Smith's  office  ? ' 

"  Answer  — '  Yes.' 

"  Call  —  <  May  I  speak  with  Mr.  Smith  ? ' 

"  Answer  — '  Just  a  moment  till  I  see  if  he  is  in.  May 
I  say  who  is  asking  for  him  ?  ' 

"  Nine  cases  out  of  ten  this  polite  and  proper  query 
brings  the  desired  answer.  The  caller  is  not  irritated  by 
what  sounds  like  rudeness,  and  the  giving  of  his  name  may 
enable  you  to  transact  the  business  in  hand  without  bother- 
ing Mr.  Smith  at  all. 

"  Always  avoid  asking  directly,  in  such  a  case,  the  name 
of  the  person  calling.  A  little  diplomacy  will  save  the 
caller  irritation  and  you  the  charge  of  being  rude. 

"  What  we  have  said  applies  also  to  all  telephone  deal- 
ings between  employes.  The  habit  of  politeness,  once 
formed,  makes  no  exceptions.  It  has  not  one  face  for  the 
public  and  another  for  your  fellow  worker." 

It  is  most  important  for  you  to  notice  the  last  point. 
If  vou  give  the  habit  conscious  attention  now,  you  will 
find  later  that  politeness  comes  naturally  and  that  you  have 
gained  a  great  asset  for  your  business  career.  This  point 
is  being  emphasized  more  and  more,  and  you  can  scarcely 


230  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

pick  up  a  magazine  that  does  not  have  some  comment  on 
the  subject. 

Next  comes  a  quality  almost  inseparably  connected  with 
courtesy,  namely,  tact.  Indeed,  1  suppose  that  a  really 
courteous  person  is  pretty  sure  to  be  tactful.  Tact  con- 
sists not  only  in  doing  the  polite  thing,  such  as  saying 
"  please  "  and  "  thank  you,"  allowing  the  other  person  to 
precede  you  through  a  door,  or  offering  a  chair.  It  con- 
sists rather  in  doing  and  saying  the  thing  that  will  really 
make  the  other  person  the  most  comfortable.  For  in- 
stance, every  one  feels  a  little  complimented  when  his 
name  and  face  are  remembered.  Tact  is  also  required  in 
making  each  person  you  deal  with  feel  that  you  are  giving 
his  transaction  your  full  attention.  Do  not  let  him  feel 
that  you  are  in  a  hurry  to  get  through  or  that  you  are  more 
interested  in  something  else.  Perhaps  these  suggestions 
will  make  the  meaning  of  tact  clear.  It  may  be  gained 
by  always  seeing  the  other  person's  point  of  view  and  it 
adds  a  charm  to  personality  that  is  desirable  in  every 
occupation. 

A  third  point  closely  akin  to  courtesy  and  tact  is  man- 
ners. That  is,  there  is  something  more  than  courtesy  and 
tact  which  must  govern  our  attitude  towards  other  people; 
we  must  give  attention  to  our  own  individual  manners  even 
though  we  think  they  are  entirely  personal.  Such  things 
as  unconventional  ways  of  using  one's  knife  and  fork, 
smoking  while  talking  with  a  lady,  or  rudely  pushing 
ahead  of  others,  will  always  repel  a  refined  person.  It 
would  be  profitable  to  make  a  study  of  manners  that  are 
generally  accepted  and  to  train  yourself  in  them ;  for  their 
sum  total  makes  such  a  difference  in  the  impression  others 
get  of  you  that  your  business  success  will  be  largely  in- 
fluenced by  them. 

But  as  important  as  any  of  the  foregoing  points,  is  the 


PERSONAL    QUALIFICATIONS  231 

endeavor  to  cultivate  a  pleasant  manner;  that  is,  one  that 
is  not  marked  by  grouchiness  or  touchiness.  A  man  who, 
when  he. comes  into  an  establishment  to  do  business,  has  a 
pleasant,  agreeable  attitude  has,  in  a  large  war,  won 
what  he  wishes.  George  W.  Perkins,  the  great  financier, 
is  said  to  have  a  smile  which  is  worth  $250,000. 

In  a  large  store  in  Chicago,  this  sign  is  posted: 
"  Civility  and  smiles  don't  cost  anything.  We  have  a 
large  supply  of  both." 

While  we  are  talking  of  personality,  one  more  point 
should  be  emphasized,  and  I  am  inclined  to  think  that 
there  are  few  so  worth  while.  It  is  a  virtue  that 
will  cover  a  multitude  of  sins.  I  refer  to  enthusiasm. 
Don't  be  afraid  to  show  an  interest  in  and  a  great  liking 
for  your  work.  There  is  nothing  in  the  world  so  con- 
tagious. Charles  M.  Schwab,  the  great  steel  magnate,  later 
director  of  the  Emergency  Fleet  Corporation,  says: 
"  Bethlehem's  biggest  asset  is  not  its  rolling  mill  plants, 
its  gun  shops,  its  armor  works,  its  rail  mills ;  it  is  the 
men  who  make  up  its  enthusiastic  organization."  No- 
tice the  adjective,  enthusiastic,  and  think  what  that  qual- 
ity would  mean  to  a  big  business.  At  any  rate,  Mr. 
Schwab,  who  ought  to  know  as  well  as  anyone,  thinks  it 
important.  There  is  all  the  difference  in  the  world  be- 
tween having  a  liking  for  your  work  with  an  interest  in 
getting  it  accomplished  in  the  best  way,  and  in  dragging 
through  the  eight  hours  that  you  must  keep  busy  in 
order  to  draw  your  pay,  thinking  all  the  time  of  how  hard 
it  is  and  how  glad  you  will  be  when  the  clock  strikes 
five. 

To  quote  once  more  from  Mr.  Schwab :  "  I  have  al- 
ways felt  that  the  surest  way  to  qualify  for  the  job  just 
ahead  is  to  work  a  little  harder  than  any  one  else  on  the 
job  one  is  holding  down.     One  of  the  most  successful  men 


232  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

I  have  known  never  carried  a  watch  until  he  began  to 
earn  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year.  Before  that  he  had 
managed  with  a  nickel  alarm  clock  in  his  bedroom,  which 
he  never  forgot  to  wind.  A  man  will  succeed  in  any- 
thing about  which  he  has  real  enthusiasm,  in  which  he 
is  genuinely  interested,  provided  that  he  will  take  more 
thought  about  his  job  than  the  men  working  with  him." 

HEALTH 

The  second  fundamental  thing  that  any  prospective 
employer  is  going  to  notice  in  regard  to  you,  when  you 
apply  for  a  position,  is  whether  you  are  in  good  health. 
]STo  employer  wants  a  sickly  person  about,  one  who  is  not 
able  to  do  a  good  day's  work,  or  one  who  conies  down  in 
the  morning  complaining  of  headaches  or  indigestion,  or 
one  who  is  constantly  taking  days  off  on  account 
of  sickness.  There  is  no  need  for  any  one  to  be  an 
anaemic,  nervous,  excitable  individual  if  he  will  take 
care  of  himself  properly.  The  ordinary  rules  for  health 
are  worth  while  for  everybody ;  they  are  included  in  the 
five  following  points:  Exercise,  Fresh  air,  Good  food, 
Good  hours,  Good  habits.  Indeed  the  whole  matter  of 
personality  which  we  have  just  been  discussing,  courtesy, 
tact,  cheerfulness,  and  enthusiasm,  is  dependent  to  a 
great  degree  on  the  condition  of  one's  health.  You  have 
probably  noticed  that  when  you  feel  miserable  physically, 
enthusiasm  lags  and  you  feel  generally  grouchy. 

The  boys  have  seen  the  importance  of  this  in  the  case  of 
athletics.  The  professional  athlete  makes  a  special  study 
of  keeping  himself  fit.  Actors  and  actresses  make  a  busi- 
ness of  keeping  themselves  in  fine  physical  condition,  and 
the  fine  points  of  their  art  are  built  upon  this  as  a  basis.- 
In  war  times,  especially,  we  realize  the  importance  of 
health  when  many  young  men  are  rejected  from  the  army 


PERSONAL    QUALIFICATIONS  233 

because  they  do  not  quite  come  up  to  the  required  physical 
standard,  which  might  have  been  attained  if  they  had 
obeyed  these  five  rules  of  health.  One  young  man,  a 
mathematical  and  engineering  genius,  splendid  in  every 
way,  in  his  physical  examination  was  found  to  have  slight 
trouble  with  his  heart,  and  the  government  would  not  ac- 
cept him.  This  young  man  had  no  idea  that  he  was  not  in 
good  condition,  but  he  himself  realized  that  the  trouble  had 
probably  come  because  he  had  paid  no  attention  to  the  laws 
of  health.  For  months  every  night  he  had  been  attending 
parties  that  kept  him  up  until  one  or  two  o'clock  so  that, 
being  obliged  to  start  for  business  early  in  the  morning, 
he  was  not  getting  the  necessary  sleep.  With  this  neglect 
there  was  no  chance  of  recovery  from  the  heart  trouble. 
The  disappointment  was  great  but  was  a  direct  result  of 
his  manner  of  living. 

The  ordinary  youth  has  an  abundance  of  health  which 
he  should  conserve  as  he  would  so  much  capital.  It  has 
been  said  of  the  college  men  in  Germany  that  one-third 
killed  themselves  by  dissipation;  one-third  killed  them- 
selves by  overwork,  and  the  other  third  ruled  (or  it  might 
be  more  nearly  true  to  say  misruled)  the  nation.  Perhaps 
if  the  first  two-thirds  had  been  more  moderate,  there 
would  now  be  a  class  of  educated  men  with  a  saner  view  of 
life. 

The  following  is  what  a  successful  employer  of  many 
men  says  on  this  subject: 

"  Every  sound  man  is  worth  building  up  in  business, 
but  a  sick  man  or  a  man  with  a  contagious  or  fatal  dis- 
ease is  not.  You  must  have  something  to  build  on.  A 
man  who  is  ill  or  weak  cannot  be  cheerful,  and  a  good 
clerk  must  be  cheerful.  People  do  not  want  to  buy  goods 
from  clerks  who  look  ill  or  cross.  Hence  the  employer 
must  not  take  chances  in  hiring  sick  people.  .  .  ." 


234  VOCATIONAL,    CIVICS 

Your  body  is  a  very  complicated  piece  of  machinery. 
Ask  yourself  how  lung  this  machine  will  last.  A  railway 
man  says  that  the  working  life  of  a  healthy  human  being 
is  normally  longer  than  that  of  the  best  locomotive.  But 
a  large  proportion  of  men  do  not  keep  themselves  in 
working  order  for  the  normal  length  of  time.  One  busi- 
ness man  says  to  his  employees:  "  It's  none  of  my  busi- 
ness what  you  do  at  night,  but  if  dissipation  affects  what 
you  do  next  day  and  you  do  half  as  much  as  I  demand, 
you'll  last  half  as  long  as  you  hoped." 

It  is  hard  to  realize  that  one  may  draw  too  heavily  on 
his  supply  of  strength.  We  are  in  the  grasp  of  an  in- 
evitable law.  Lack  of  exercise,  bad  air,  poor  nourish- 
ment, late  hours,  and  dissipated  habits  are  bound  to  tell 
on  the  physical  capital.  But  the  wise  youth  who  recog- 
nizes this  truth,  will  cultivate  a  goodly  supply  of  health 
and  guard  it  against  the  time  to  come. 

INTELLECT 

Important  as  is  health  to  success,  and  its  impor- 
tance can  scarcely  be  overestimated,  it  is,  nevertheless, 
only  the  basis  for  a  still  more  indispensable  quality.  The 
great  watchword  of  the  present  age  is  efficiency ;  and  the 
efficiency  which  is  demanded  today  is  in  most  cases  men- 
tal in  character  and  not  physical.  The  great  rewards  in 
money,  name,  or  power  come  to  the  man  who  excels  on  a 
mental  plane.  The  question  is  not  whether  you  are  bigger 
or  stronger  but  whether  you  have  a  better,  or  better 
trained  mind  than  those  with  whom  you  are  going  to 
compete.  This  does  not  alter  what  we  said  about  the 
importance  of  health.  Health  is  so  much  capital,  but  it 
takes  intellect  to  build  up  success  with  whatever  capital  you 
may  have. 

In  former  days  we  were  told  that  if  we  were  honest  and 


PEESONAL    QUALIFICATIONS  235 

industrious,  we  would  be  sure  to  succeed.  Recently  an 
eminent  business  man  when  asked  to  name  the  qualities 
necessary  for  success  said:  "Honesty  and  the  whole 
category  of  qualities  that  have  usually  been  given  in  an- 
swer to  this  question  are  today  considered  so  fundamental 
that  they  are  taken  for  granted  as  absolutely  necessary ; 
but  they  are  by  no  means  all  that  is  necessary.  For  success 
there  is  no  substitute  for  efficiency."  If  an  easy  going 
virtue  will  not  carry  us  very  far,  but  if  we  must  also  be 
actively  efficient,  it  is  surely  worth  our  while  to  stop  for 
a  minute  and  see  if  we  can  determine  some  of  the  elements 
which  go  to  make  up  an  efficient  man.  Men  around  us 
are  saying,  "  There  are  lots  of  $1200  men,  but  not  enough 
$10,000  men  to  go  around."  What  makes  the  difference 
between  the  two  ?  Some  successful  men  who  have  studied 
the  question,  say  there  are  about  half  a  dozen  elements 
which  one  needs  to  cultivate  if  he  would  be  successful. 
These  are  Initiative,  Decision,  Dispatch,  Skill,  Persever- 
ance.    Let  us  take  these  up  in  the  order  mentioned. 

1.  Initiative.  By  this  we  mean  a  power  to  start  things 
and  to  carry  them  through.  We  mean  that  when  diffi- 
culties arise,  you  are  not  balked  by  them  nor  do  you  ask 
for  help,  but  you  yourself  work  through  to  a  solution.  It 
is,  in  other  terms,  to  have  an  ideal  and  the  ability  to  move 
always  towards  it.  It  means  also  a  power  to  invent  ways 
of  carrying  on  your  work.  Probably  you  have  heard  the 
story  of  the  man  who  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish- American 
war  took  a  message  from  our  president  to  Garcia,  the 
leader  of  the  Cuban  Insurgents.  ISTo  one  knew  where 
Garcia  was;  but  he  was  somewhere  in  the  mountains  be- 
yond the  reach  of  mail  or  telegraph.  A  man  by  the 
name  of  Powan  was  asked  by  McKinley  to  find  Garcia 
and  deliver  a  letter  to  him.  This  man  was  selected  be- 
cause  of  his   reputation   for   initiative;    and   he   proved 


236  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

worthy  of  that  reputation.  He  did  not  ask,  "  Where  is 
Garcia  ?  "  He  crossed  to  the  island,  penetrated  the  jungle, 
and  in  a  little  less  than  four  weeks  had  delivered  the  let- 
ter to  the  man  who  it  was  thought  could  not  be  found  but 
whose  discovery  was  so  necessary  for  this  country.  It  is 
worth  while  to  cultivate  the  habit  of  using  your  mind  to 
find  out  ways  of  accomplishing  things. 

2.  Decision.     By  decision  we  mean  the  power  to  make 
up  your  mind  as  to  the  best  thing  to  be  done  and  to  start 
doing  it.     It  is  not  to  wish  things  done  but  to  do  them. 
We  say  of  some  people  that  "  their  wish  bone  is  where  their 
back  bone  ought  to  be."     This  characterizes  the  man  who 
has  not  the  judgment  and  will  power  to  make  quick  de- 
cisions.    A  woman,  who  because  of  this  ability  has  man- 
aged big  enterprises   and   accomplished  much   in   a  con- 
structive way,  as  a  child  could  never  make  up  her  mind 
about  anything.      She  would  keep  everyone  waiting  and 
cause  delays  simply  because  she  could  not  decide  what  to 
wear,  what  to  buy,  or  where  to  go.     Finally  her  parents 
formed  the  plan  of  giving  her  each  time  just  so  many  min- 
utes to  make  up  her  mind  and  when  it  was  once  made  up, 
under  no  circumstances  whatever  would  they  allow  her  to 
change.     This    was    an    extreme    process    and    the     '  no 
change  "  habit  is  not  always  a  good  one,  but  it  worked  well 
as  a  method  of  discipline,  and  it  might  be  a  good  plan  for 
you  to  try  on  yourself  if  you  are  troubled  with  indecision. 
3.   Dispatch.     Dispatch  means  the  habit  of  getting  busy 
and  keeping  busy  until  your  work  is  done,  not  frittering 
away  your  time,  nor  wasting  it  over  trifles,  but  getting 
at  the  main  piece  of  work.     In  other  words,  it  means  the 
ability  to  do  more  than  the  next  fellow  in  quantity.     This 
may  mean  faster  work  in  a  given  amount  of  time,  as  for 
instance,  in  the  case  of  a  stenographer;  or  it  may  mean 
endurance  to  work  longer  when  a  crisis  requires  it,  as  in  the 


PERSONAL    QUALIFICATIONS  237 

case  of  a  doctor  at  a  critical  time,  or  in  business  when 
there  is  an  extra  amount  of  work  to  be  done.  Figuratively 
expressed,  the  rule  is,  "  Hitch  a  high  speed  motor  to  your 
brain."  When  an  employee  on  being  criticized  for  his 
slowness,  answered,  "  But  I  am  working  carefully,"  his 
employer  aptly  replied,  "  Yes,  it  takes  brains  to  work  fast 
and  still  accurately."  So,  dispatch  is  also  a  mental  qual- 
ity and  can  be  cultivated  as  such.  One  very  good  oppor- 
tunity to  practise  this  is  at  the  time  of  written  examina- 
tions. 

4.  Skill.  Be  skilled  in  whatever  you  undertake.  This 
skill  will  depend  first  upon  a  good  general  education.  At 
least  finish  your  high  school  course  if  possible.  Take  his- 
tory, science,  mathematics,  literature,  until  you  have  some 
general  view  of  the  field  of  knowledge.  You  will  be  sur- 
prised as  you  go  on  to  find  this  general  training  helping 
you  out  at  every  turn.  Second,  skill  will  depend  upon 
special  training  in  the  lines  in  which  you  wish  to  work. 
This  may  mean  the  technical  training  of  the  engineer,  or 
normal  school  training  for  the  teacher,  or  the  business 
course  for  the  stenographer.  Special  training  makes  the 
skilled  workman.  More  and  more  as  competition  grows 
keener  and  keener,  each  occupation  is  demanding  a  special 
course  of  preparation.  We  have  talked  about  this  more  in 
detail  in  the  various  chapters ;  and  you  have  learned  what 
is  expected  in  the  different  lines  of  business.  But  to  rise 
above  a  certain  low  level  in  any  of  them,  one  must  have  the 
skill  that  comes  from  training. 

5.  Perseverance.  Lastly,  perseverance  is  necessary  for 
success.  This  means  sticking  to  your  work  until  you 
have  mastered  it.  It  means  will  power  and  energy  com- 
bined. A  little  story  that  will  illustrate  this  point  is  told 
about  Paderewski,  that  greatest  of  pianists.  On  being 
complimented  upon  his  brilliant  playing,  he  replied,  "  I 


238  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

played  with  an  orchestra  in  Vienna.  My  work  lasted  four 
hours  a  day.  After  I  was  through  with  my  regular  work, 
1  practised  for  twelve  hours  every  day.  Often  my  arms 
were  stiff  and  numb,  but  I  did  this  for  fourteen  years. 
Other  musicians  laughed  at  me  and  called  me  a  fool.  Now 
people  applaud  me  and  call  me  a  genius."  This  is  an  ex- 
treme case,  but  often  success  for  an  individual  comes  from 
doggedly  and  energetically  keeping  at  his  work  after  most 
people  would  think  that  they  had  earned  a  vacation. 

These  five  points  that  go  to  make  up  efficiency  might  be 
summed  up  as  follows :  Do  your  work  more  courageously, 
more  energetically,  faster,  better  and  longer  than  you 
really  think  is  necessary.  This  is  the  only  way  to  become 
efficient  and  efficiency  is  what  wins. 

In  a  way,  in  school  you  have  not  been  held  strictly  ac- 
countable for  poor  work.     Your  parents,  for  instance,  are 
willing  to  keep  you  in  school  even   if  you  do  get  some 
failures  or  poor  marks.     But  if  you  fail  in  business  your 
employer  is  not  going  to  keep  you.      No  excuses  are  listened 
to  if  work  is  not  attended  to  and  the  appointed  task  ac- 
complished.    A  business  man  is  not  running  an  educational 
institution,  and  he  is  unwilling  to  pay  out  money  that 
is  not  earned.     So  you  are  sure  to  meet  this  test  of  effi- 
ciency just  as  soon  as  you  start  to  work.     Don't  get  the 
habits  of  loafing,  indifference,  and  "  don't  care  "  so  fixed 
in  school  that  when  you  go  to  work  you  will  be  unable  to 
get  over  the  bad  habits  you  acquired  here.     A  woman  who 
has  charge  of  the  educational  work  in  a  large  department 
store  in  San  Francisco,  said  that  the  high  school  graduates 
whom  they  employed  were  too  much  inclined  to  think  them- 
selves above  their  work.     They  either  didn't  feel  the  neces- 
sity or  didn't  have  the  ability  to  settle  down  to  real  work; 
but  seemed  to  feel  that  they  must  do  a  certain  amount  of 
playing  and  loafing. 


PEESONAL,    QUALIFICATIONS  239 

There  is  a  committee  in  connection  with  the  New  York 
City  High  Schools  which  helps  the  graduates  to  get  posi- 
tions. One  report  of  this  committee  says  that  out  of  800 
boys  who  were  seeking  employment  only  18  came  punctu- 
ally although  they  had  been  particularly  ordered  to  do  so. 
These  were  appointed  to  come  at  a  certain  time  with 
their  applications,  but  not  one  appeared  on  time.  When 
questioned,  one  said  that  he  didn't  think  it  mattered. 
It  was  particularly  specified  that  they  were  to  write 
letters  on  ruled  paper.  Not  one  had  that  kind.  Some 
had  foolscap,  most  of  them  had  little  sheets  of  cheap  let- 
ter paper,  because  they  thought  it  "  would  do  just  as  well." 
This  was  all  written  up  by  the  New  York  Evening  Post, 
which  said  that  these  boys  had  been  made  flabby  by  too 
much  coddling  and  that  after  being  discharged  from  half 
a  dozen  small  posts,  they  would  easily  lose  faith  in  them- 
selves or  in  the  world  in  general.  Does  not  all  this  im- 
press upon  us  the  necessity  of  gaining  right  now  the 
efficiency  that  will  enable  us  to  do  things  accurately  and 
well  ?  Elbert  Hubbard  said :  "  A  dollar-a-day  man 
would  receive  two  dollars  a  day  were  it  not  for  the  fact 
that  some  one  has  to  think  for  him,  look. after  him,  and 
supply  the  will  that  holds  him  to  his  task.  .  .  .  The  less 
you  require  looking  after,  the  more  able  you  are  to  stand 
alone  and  complete  your  tasks,  the  greater  your  reward. 
.  .  .  Do  your  work  so  well  that  you  will  require  no  super- 
vision." 

CHABACTEE 

We  have  spoken  of  personality,  that  which  at- 
tracts or  repels  at  first  sight ;  health,  the  foundation  of 
everything;  mental  qualities,  which  underlie  efficiency  and 
sometimes  seem  to  be  the  main  requirement ;  —  now  we 
come  to  character,  without  which  real  permanent  success  is 


240  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

impossible.  We  do  not  hear  much  about  character  in 
business,  yet  every  employer  demands  it  of  his  employees, 
and  a  good  character  is  an  asset. 

The  foundation  of  character  lies  in  the  right  kind  of 
habits.  If  keeping  late  hours  affects  your  business  you 
must  get  to  bed  early.  No  one  wants  a  man  with  bad 
habits,  and  we  are  suspicious  of  the  man  who  shows  lack 
of  control  and  drinks  and  plays  cards  to  excess.  Many 
railroads  will  not  employ  a  man  who  is  known  to  drink 
heavily.  To  be  sure  many  employers  do  not  investigate  the 
habits  of  applicants,  but  bad  habits  are  sure  to  tell  sooner 
or  later  in  a  man's  work;  and  while  he  may  be  able  to  hide 
it  for  a  few  years,  he  is  bound  to  lose  out  in  the  end. 

Another  important  virtue  is  that  of  being  straightfor- 
ward, not  tricky  or  evasive.  I  think  we  are  safe  in  saying 
that  in  business  it  never  pays  to  tell  anything  but  the 
truth  and  the  whole  truth  to  one's  employer.  You  have 
perhaps  heard  the  story  of  Colonel  Roosevelt  when  he 
was  out  west  riding  over  the  ranges  with  some  of  his  cow- 
boys. They  came  across  a  young  heifer  wandering  at 
large  and  as  vet  unbranded.  One  of  the  men  tossed  his 
loop,  roped  the  animal,  and  had  marked  it  with  Roose- 
velt's own  brand  before  the  colonel  knew  anything  about 
it.  The  deed  was  absolutely  contrary  to  the  honor  of 
ranchmen,  but  the  cowboy  knew  that  it  could  never  be 
discovered,  and  showed  the  result  to  his  master  who  he 
thought  would  agree  that  he  had  done  a  clever  thing  for 
him.  Instead,  Roosevelt  immediately  dismissed  him  from 
his  service  saying,  "  He  that  will  steal  for  me  will  steal 
from  me." 

One  should  make  a  great  point  of  keeping  out  of  debt. 
While  it  is  not  dishonest  to  borrow  when  necessary,  get- 
ting into  debt  is  very  poor  policy.  It  usually  means  that 
one's  expenses  are  running  beyond  his  income;  and  that 


PERSONAL    QUALIFICATIONS  241 

in  turn  means  that  he  is  not  saving  anything.  The  vir- 
tue of  managing  one's  money  carefully,  of  keeping  ex- 
penses below  income,  and  of  saving  something,  is  called 
thrift.  Begin  to  save  against  the  time  when  you  may 
have  need  of  capital,  for  capital  is  a  great  force  in  mod- 
ern times.  The  man  who  has  $1,000  when  he  needs  it  to 
start  in  business,  or  wants  to  make  an  investment,  has 
made  the  first  step  towards  success.  Andrew  Carnegie 
gives  thrift  as  one  of  the  indispensable  qualities  for  a  man 
who  wants  to  advance.  In  a  certain  large  city,  teachers 
who  are  found  to  run  constantly  behind  in  paying  their 
bills  are  discharged. 

There  is  also  great  need  of  courage  without  which  no 
character  is  really  reliable.  I  suppose  there  is  no  char- 
acteristic which  is  more  generally  admired.  In  war  times 
our  magazines  are  filled  with  accounts  of  deeds  which  re- 
quire a  courage  that  almost  staggers  many  of  us.  Cour- 
age does  not  necessarily  mean  fearlessness.  In  May, 
1917,  the  Literary  Digest  published  an  interview  with  a 
French  officer,  who  was  detailed  to  carry  a  message  across 
the  most  dangerous  region  near  the  trenches.  He  said 
that  his  fear  was  indescribable  but  though  shells  were 
hissing  all  around  him  he  went  right  on  with  not  a  thought 
of  turning  back.  A  man  who  will  succeed  must  have  the 
element  of  courage  in  his  character.  Engineering,  manu- 
facturing, forestry,  mining,  fishing,  all  require  physi- 
cal courage;  while  there  is  no  work  which  does  not  often 
draw  upon  one's  moral  courage. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  mention  all  the  moral  quali- 
ties that  form  valuable  assets  for  a  career.  But  there  is 
one  other  great  element  in  character  that  is  being  em- 
phasized today  and  that  is  important  enough  to  be  noticed 
particularly.  That  is  what  is  called  loyalty.  Loyalty 
means  simply  a  willingness  to  give  yourself  generously  to 


242  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

whatever  you  undertake,  whether  it  is  school  affairs,  busi- 
ness, or  a  matter  of  public  interest.  Can  you  carry 
through  things  as  carefully  and  as  efficiently  for  your  em- 
ployer as  you  would  for  yourself  ?  Dean  Briggs,  of 
Harvard,  in  addressing  the  senior  class  of  that  university, 
spoke  as  follows  about  this  quality: 

"  One.  form  of  loyalty  for  which  you  Seniors  are  re- 
sponsible is  loyalty  to  your  school.  You  are  the  oldest 
class  in  the  school  and  it  is  your  problem  to  maintain  the 
standards  of  the  school  —  in  athletics,  by  supporting  the 
team,  in  scholarship,  by  your  work  in  the  class  room,  in  ora- 
tory, by  boosting  the  Literary  Society,  etc.  For  what  the 
school  is  this  year  depends  largely  upon  you.  If  we  are  to 
make  a  successful  record  it  will  be  because  the  upper 
classmen  have  done  their  share  in  encouraging  school  ac- 
tivities. 

"  Will  you  then  be  loyal  to  the  school  as  something 
that  you  will  be  proud  of  when  you  are  Alumni?  Loy- 
alty, you  know,  is  devotion  to  a  cause  larger  than  the  in- 
dividual and  apart  from  him. 

"  It  is,  then,  in  loyalty  to  the  school  that  I  would  ask 
your  devotion  this  year.  A  business  man  has  said  that 
pick  and  shovel  are  the  only  tools  for  a  man  who  is  not 
loyal,  so  you  can  see  how  loyalty  stands  in  the  business 
world." 

On  this  same  subject  Dr.  John  C.  Branner,  of  Stan- 
ford University  in  California,  spoke  to  the  students 
there : 

"  The  subject  seems  to  be  especially  worthy  of  your 
attention  just  now  because  the  habit  of  loyalty  is  one  that 
may  be  cultivated  during  your  student  life ;  it  certainly 
will  not  spring  into  full-fledged  development  at  some  fu- 
ture time  when  it  happens  to  be  wanted.  Loyalty  is  go- 
ing to  be  an  important  factor  in  the  making  of  your  char- 


PEESONAL    QUALIFICATIONS  243 

acter,  and  even,  if  you  care  to  look  at  it  in  that  light,  an 
asset  in  jour  profession,  or  in  your  business. 

"  When  you  get  through  your  university  studies  and 
go  out  into  the  affairs  of  life,  if  you  become  employers 
of  other  men,  you  will  lay  great  stress  on  the  loyalty  of 
those  you  have  about  you.  You  may  not  put  it  to  your- 
selves in  just  this  form,  but  if  you  are  wise,  you  will  none 
the  less  be  influenced  as  much,  or  even  more,  by  the  loyalty 
of  your  employees  than  by  any  other  one  quality  they 
may  have.  You  will  say  of  every  man  you  engage :  '  If 
I  can't  trust  this  man  to  think  of  and  work  for  my  in- 
terests, I  don't  want  him  around,  no  matter  how  skilful 
he  may  be  in  his  particular  line  of  work.' 

"  The  matter  simply  reduces  itself  to  this,  that  a  man 
who  is  not  loyal  is  not  wanted  by  anybody  for  anything. 

"  Let  us  have  the  opinions  of  men  of  wide  experience. 
I  once  recommended  a  young  man  for  the  position  of 
assistant  to  one  of  the  leaders  of  science  in  this  country, 
who  wrote  back  to  make  further  inquiries,  and  wound  up 
with  this.  '  I  want  a  young  man  who  is  orderly,  inter- 
ested in  the  work  and  who  will  devote  himself  to  my  in- 
terests. If  he  will  not  devote  himself  to  my  interests  I 
don't  want  him,  no  matter  how  competent  he  may  be.' 

"  You  will  note  that  loyalty  demands  that  you  assume 
certain  risks.  This  is  inevitable.  Loyalty  without  risk 
must  be  of  a  pretty  poor  quality.  If  there  is  anything 
especially  pusillanimous  in  human  nature,  anything  that 
one  instinctively  despises,  it. is  the  disposition  to  stand 
aside  when  there  is  danger  to  be  faced,  or  to  wait  to  see 
which  side  is  going  to  win  before  choosing  that  particular 
side.     Take  the  risks  and  ffo  cheerful lv  forward." 

Dr.  Branner  has  hit  the  nail  so  squarely  on  the  head 
that  we  scarcely  need  discuss  the  matter  further.  Loyalty 
carried  out  to  its  limits  would  seem  to  include  many  other 


244  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

virtues.  A  high  official  in  a  large  manufacturing  con- 
cern, one  who  has  much  to  do  with  hiring  boys,  was  asked 
what  he  considered  the  chief  qualifications  necessary  in  a 
boy  starting  out  to  earn  his  living.  He  said  that  the  first 
essential  was  discipline,  that  is  the  ability  to  accept  and 
execute  orders  without  question;  and  next  was  loyalty 
carried  to  the  utmost  extent.  This  would  include  an  in- 
terest in  the  firm  and  a  willingness  to  do  more  than  the  set 
task.  He  said  that  it  took  most  boys  two  or  three  years 
to  sense  this  thing  and  that  their  chance  of  advancing 
would  be  much  increased  if  they  could  only  learn  it  be- 
fore leaving  school. 

Practical  business  men  ask  for  loyalty  to  the  firm,  but 
one  might  be  working  for  a  company  to  whom  he  would  find 
it  impossible  to  maintain  his  loyalty  and  at  the  same  time 
his  self-respect.  Perhaps  it  would  be  better  to  say,  Be 
loyal  to  right  principles.  Then  the  men  and  firms  who 
are  worthy  of  loyalty  will  be  sure  to  receive  it. 

Two  elements  of  character  have  not  been  discussed, 
because  they  are  so  self-evident  and  easily  understood  that 
they  need  only  to  be  mentioned.  Everyone  knows  that  if 
he  is  worth  anything,  he  will  be  honest  and  industrious. 

So  as  points  of  character  to  be  especially  cultivated  we 
have  good  habits,  thrift,  courage,  loyalty,  industry  and 
honesty. 

FEJENDS 

At  the  beginning  of  this  discussion,  we  said  that 
there  were  five  personal  qualifications  that  were  funda- 
mental for  success  in  any  occupation.  These  were  per- 
sonality, health,  intellect,  character,  and  friends.  How 
many  of  you  have  ever  thought  how  important  in  a  man's 
life,  both  for  his  success  and  his  happiness,  are  the  kind 
of  friends   that   he  makes?     It   is   worth   while  as  you 


PERSONAL    QUALIFICATIONS  245 

start  out  in  life  to  try  to  make  and  to  keep  good 
friends.  In  a  way,  friends  measure  the  man.  If  your 
friends  are  careless,  indifferent,  thoughtless,  they  will 
tend  to  pull  you  down  to  their  level.  If  you  make  friends 
with  people  who  are  energetic  and  ambitious,  you,  too,  will 
strive  for  these  qualities.  Can  you  make  and  keep  true 
friends,  friends  who  will  stand  by  you  in  need  and  will 
be  a  help  to  you  as  you  go  on  your  way  from  success  to 
success?  Robert  Louis  Stevenson  asks:  "  Of  what  shall 
a  man  be  proud  if  he  is  not  proud  of  his  friends  ?  '  I 
know  of  a  capable  young  man  who  several  times  lost  out  in 
trying  to  get  a  good  position  simply  because  his  prospec- 
tive employers  found  out  that  his  intimate  friends  were 
young  men  of  undesirable  character.  They  could  not  be- 
lieve that  he  was  different  from  those  with  whom  he  chose 
to  associate. 

In  consideration  of  these  five  points,  Personality, 
Health,  Intellect,  Character  and  Friends,  think  about 
this  question :  "  Has  a.  man  filled  the  full  measure 
of  life  when  he  has  done  these  things  ?  '  We  have  spent 
some  time  in  considering  many  different  occupations; 
what  qualities  are  required  for  entrance  into  them,  what 
remuneration  may  be  expected,  what  are  the  opportuni- 
ties for  progress,  and  what  other  advantages  and  disad- 
vantages are  connected  with  them.  We  have  tried  to 
consider  the  hard  facts  of  life  and  it  may  seem  as  if  we 
were  chiefly  concerned  in  finding  out  where  the  most 
money  can  be  made.  But  if  this  were  our  aim,  the  end 
of  our  life  would  be  rather  unsatisfactory.  Not  only  is 
it  to  our  interest  to  make  and  keep  good  friends,  but  we 
have  not  filled  the  full  measure  of  life  unless  we  have 
shown  ourselves  friendly  not  only  to  individuals  but  to 
society  in  general.  In  the  vocation  that  we  would  choose, 
can  we  be  of  much  service  to  humanity  ? 


246  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

One  teacher  of  vocations  says  that  all  occupations  may 
be  divided  into  two  classes,  based  upon  the  motive  with 
which  they  are  entered:  those  that  are  entered  for  the 
sake  of  making  money  and  those  that  are  entered  for 
the  sake  of  helping  humanity.  Now  for  two  reasons 
this  statement  seems  absolutely  wrong:  first,  to  a  cer- 
tain extent  they  are  nearly  all  entered  for  the  sake  of 
making  money.  As  far  as  in  him  lies,  it  is  the  duty 
of  every  man  and  woman  to  earn  his  living,  to  see  that 
he  has  a  competence  so  that  in  later  life  it  will  not  be 
necessary  for  him  to  draw  upon  the  charity  of  his  friends 
or  of  the  public.  To  this  end  he  must  look  out  for  a 
vocation  that  will  enable  him  to  earn  at  least  a  fair 
amount  of  money. 

But  to  make  money  is  not  the  highest  aim  for  a  man,  and 
he  who  has  done  merely  that,  even  though  it  may  be  to  a 
tremendously  large  degree,  has  not  filled  the  full  measure 
of  life.  As  we  saw  at  the  beginning  from  our  diagram 
of  occupations,  the  various  sorts  of  work  that  go  to  make 
up  our  business  and  professional  life  are  all  so  interde- 
pendent that  we  cannot  single  some  off  as  simply  money 
making  and  others  as  beneficial  to  mankind.  Take  the 
word  of  those  who  have  lived  longer  than  you  —  and  their 
testimony  is  almost  unanimous  —  that  in  the  end  nothing 
brings  real  happiness  but  the  consciousness  of  benefits 
given.  At  the  same  time  remember  that  the  occupations 
that  allow  this  privilege  are  not  simply  those  that  we  are 
accustomed  to  think  of  in  that  way,  such  as,  medicine, 
preaching,  welfare  work,  teaching.  We  would  starve 
without  the  farmer,  we  would  perish  from  cold  without  the 
manufacturer  and  the  miner,  we  would  have  no  education 
without  the  printer.  Ambition  is  a  necessary  thing; 
often  we  must  aim  at  the  top  in  order  to  reach  a  place 
half  way  up,  but  after  all  there  are  comparatively  few 


PERSONAL    QUALIFICATIONS  247 

people  who  make  what  is  called  a  wonderful  success.     A 

business  man  of  wide  experience  has  summed  it  up  as 

follows:     "Let  every  man  feel  that  he  is  successful   if 

he  has  turned  out  to  he  a  good  man,  with  enough  money 

for  his  reasonable  wants,  with  a  circle  of  friends  and  with 

the  ability  to  leave  behind  him  some  work  by  which  he  may 

be  remembered." 

EXERCISES 

1.  Think  of  some  one  of  your  acquaintances  and  describe  his  per- 
sonality. Which  characteristics  do  you  think  he  has  inherited  and 
for  which  do  you  think  ho  is  directly  responsible? 

2.  Do  you  know  how  the  speaking  voice  of  Americans  compares 
with  that  of  people  in  other  countries?  Can  you  explain  the  differ- 
ence?    Would  a  change  be  possible? 

3.  When  there  came  a  shortage  of  labor,  of  wool,  leather  and  other 
materials  during  the  war,  we  were  asked  to  be  more  economical  in 
buying  our  clothes.  Is  it  possible  to  do  this  and  still  fulfill  the  re- 
quirement of  being  well  dressed? 

4.  Give  ten  examples  of  common  discourtesies  of  people  in  every- 
day life.  Give  ten  examples  of  courtesies  that  make  life  easier  for 
other  people. 

5.  Is  it  possible  to  be  sincere  and  still  to  be  tactful  ?  Give  an 
example  of  sincerity  that  lacks  tact.  Give  an  example  of  tactfulness 
that  lacks  sincerity. 

0.  How  is  it  possible  that  Mr.  Perkins'  smile  is  worth  $250,- 
000? 

7.  Describe  a  day's  work  of  two  boys  in  a  factory.  One  of  the 
boys  is  enthusiastic  about  his  work,  the  other  considers  it  drudgery. 

8.  Why  is  the  government  so  particular  about  the  health  of  the 
men  in  the  army?  What  is  the  reason  that  so  many  men  are  in 
better  physical  condition  after  a  few  months  of  military  training? 

0.  (a)  Give  an  example  of  a  young  person  either  in  business  or  in 
one  of  the  professions  who  lias  the  quality  of  initiative.  Give  an 
example  of  one  who  lacks  this  quality.  Show  just  what  they  would 
do  under  given  circumstances,  and  what  the  results  would  be.  (b) 
Do  the  same  for  each  of  the  other  four  qualities:  decision,  dispatch, 
skill,  and  perseverance. 

10.  Would  it  be  kind  for  your  instructors  to  let  you  slide  through 
your  work  without  doing  it  carefully  or  on  time?     Why?     Is  it  bet' 


248  VOCATIONAL    CIVICS 

ter  for  pupils  to  be  allowed  to  plan  the  use  of  their  study  hours,  or 
should  they  be  obliged  to  sit  in  a  certain  seat  and  study  a  certain 
lesson  at  a  certain  hour?     Defend  your  opinion. 

11.  What  is  the  derivation  of  the  word  "character"?  Is  there 
any  connection  between  its  source  and  the  present  meaning? 

12.  Give  examples  of  circumstances  in  the  occupational  world  in 
which  the  quality  of  courage  would  be  necessary? 

13.  Mention  other  points  that  go  to  make  up  character  and  show 
their  value. 

14.  Just  what  do  you  understand  by  the  characteristic  of  loyalty? 
Give  examples  to  illustrate.  Is  it  possible  to  be  too  loyal  to  an  em- 
ployer or  to  a  friend?     Explain. 

15.  Does  it  cost  anything  to  have  good  friends?     Illustrate. 

16\  Give  examples  of  any  notable  friendships  of  which  you  have 
heard  or  read. 

17.  Are  there  any  disadvantages  in  having  many  friends?  Ex- 
plain. 

18.  Do  you  think  that  a  man  shows  his  calibre  by  the  occupation 
that  he  chooses? 

19.  Write  a  paper  telling  what  kind  of  place  in  the  occupational 
world  you  would  like  to  till.  Why  have  you  come  to  this  conclusion? 
How  ought  you  to  prepare  for  this  place?  In  what  part  of  the 
country  would  you  have  the  best  opportunities? 

20.  Write  a  paragraph  telling  what  you  think  is  the  most  desirable 
point  to  look  for  in  an  occupation. 

REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  READING 

Tolman,    Wm.    H.    and    Guthrie,    Adelaide    W.     Hygiene   for    the 

Worker.     American  Book  Co.,  1912. 
Schwab,  Chas.  M.     Succeeding  icith  What  You  Have. 
Hubbard,  Elbert.     A  Message  to  Garcia. 
Gowin,  E.  B.     The  Executive  and  His  Control  of  Men.     The  Macmil- 

lan  Co.,  1911. 
Jordan,  David  Starr.     The  Call  of  the  Twentieth  Century. 
Pritchard,  Myron  T.  and  Turkixgton,  Grace  A.     Stories  of  Thrift 

for  Young  Americans.     Chas.  Scribner's  Sons,  1915. 
Gulick,  Luther  H.     The  Efficient  Life.     Doubleday,  Page  &  Co. 
Briggs,  LeBaron  R.     Routine  and  Ideals.     Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co., 

1904. 


INDEX 


Accident  Prevention,  in  facto- 
ries, 90,  105. 

Accounting,  137,  126;  in  dress- 
making and  millinery,  210;  in 
hotels,  219;  in  stores,  131;  in 
tailoring,  215. 

Acting,  opportunities  in,  222; 
preparation  for,  221,  222; 
qualifications  for,  221. 

Advertising,  138;  opportunities 
in,  140;  preparation  for,  140; 
qualifications  for,   138. 

Agriculture,  government  service, 
20,  38;  opportunities  in,  36, 
42;  preparation  for,  35;  quali- 
fications for,  32. 

Apprentice,  95,  97  in  building, 
114;  in  dressmaking,  212;  in 
printing,  108. 

Architect,   110. 

Army  and  Navy,  20. 

Artist,  220 ;  opportunities  of, 
222;  preparation  of,  221,  222; 
qualifications  of,  221. 

Attorneys   ( See  Law ) . 

Banking,  80;  opportunities  in, 
82,  83;  preparation  for,  82; 
qualifications  for,  81. 

Bookkeeping,  137.  (See  also 
Banking) . 

Building  Trades,  109;  opportuni- 
ties in,  115;  preparation  for, 
114;    qualifications   for.   111. 


Character,  239. 

Chemist,  203;  opportunities  of, 
205 ;  preparation  of,  204 ; 
qualifications  of,  204. 

Choosing  an  Occupation,  princi- 
ples of  choice,  5. 

Civil  Service  ( See  Government 
Service) . 

Commercial  Occupations,  in 
building,  113,  114;  in  govern- 
ment service,  19,  27 ;  grouping 
of,  122;  qualifications  for, 
123;  in  railroading,  03;  (See 
Stenographers,  Typists,  Sales- 
men, Advertising,  etc. ) . 

Consular  Service,   19,  20. 

Contractor  (See         Building 

Trades) . 

Courtesy,  227;  in  hotel-keepers, 
219;  in  salesmen,  124,  227;  in 
telephoning,  228. 

Dentist,  104;  opportunities  of, 
167;  preparation  of,  166; 
qualifications  of,  165,   166. 

Department  Stores  (See  Com- 
mercial  Occupations). 

Doctors   (See  Medicine). 

Domestic  Arts,  215;  opportuni- 
ties in,  217;  preparation  for, 
216;  qualifications  for,  216. 

Dressmaking,  209;  opportunities 
in,  212;  preparation  for,  211, 
212;    qualifications  for,   210. 


Capital,  need  of  in  farming,  44;        Efficiency,     234;     decision,     236; 
in   professions,    144,    148,    149.  dispatch,  236;   initiative,  235: 

166,  perseverance,  237;  skill,  237. 

249 


250 


INDEX 


Engineering,  195;  in  building. 
110,  111;  chemical  (Set 
Chemist)  ;  in  government  serv 
ice,  196;  in  manufacturing 
195;  in  mining,  51,  52;  oppor 
trinities  in,  199;  preparation 
for,  198;  qualifications  for 
197;  in  railroading,  72;  tele 
phone  and  telegraph,  202. 

Executive  Ability,  for  agricul 
ture,  34;  general,  68;  for  rail 
roading,  67;    in   stores,    131. 

Factories    (See   Manufacturing). 

Farming    (See  Agriculture). 

Fisheries,  55. 

Forestry,  46;  in  government 
service,  46,  47;  opportunities 
in,  48,  49;  preparation  for, 
48;  qualifications  for,  47. 

Friends,  244. 

Government  Service,  18;  agricul- 
ture, 38,  39 ;  classified  civil 
service,  21  ;  consular  service, 
19,  20;  forestry,  46,  47;  fish- 
eries, 56;  mail  service,  18;  as 
stepping  stone,  26;  in  Wash- 
ington, 18,  19. 

Health,  232;  in  athletics,  232; 
of  builders,  115;  of  doctors, 
155;  in  factories,  104,  105;  of 
farmers,  42,  43;  in  nursing, 
162;  in  war,  232,  233. 

Hotel  management,  218;  oppor- 
tunities in,  220;  preparation 
for,  219;  qualifications  for, 
218. 

Income  from  advertising,  141 ; 
from  banking,  82,  83 ;  bonus 
system,  103;  from  building, 
100;  of  chemist,  206;  of  den- 
tist, 167;  from  dressmaking, 
212,    213;    from    farming,    36; 


from  forestry,  48;  general,  10; 
from  government  service,  25, 
20 ;  from  manufacturing,  99; 
from  metal  trades,  100;  from 
millinery,  212,  213;  of  nurse, 
163;  of  physician,  15(i;  from 
printing,  100,  108,  109;  from 
railroading,  71;  of  salesmen, 
130;  from  social  service,  180; 
of  teacher,  174. 
Intellect    (See  Efficiency). 

Journalism,  177;  opportunities 
in,  181;  preparation  for,  180; 
qualifications  for,   178. 

Law,  145;  general  divisions, 
145,  146;  in  government  serv- 
ice, 19,  27;  opportunities  in, 
148;  preparation  for,  148; 
qualifications  for,    146. 

Librarian,  188;  preparation  of, 
190;   qualifications  of,   189. 

Manufacturing,  opportunities  in, 
99;  preparation  for,  94;  qual- 
ifications for,  90;  in  railroad- 
ing, 62;  welfare  work,  186. 

Medicine,  152;  opportunities  in, 
156;  preparation  for  practic- 
ing, 155;  qualifications  for 
practicing,  152. 

Millinery,  209;  opportunities  in, 
212;  preparation  for,  211,  212; 
qualifications  for,  210. 

Mining,  opportunities  in,  53,  54; 
preparation  for,  52;  qualifica- 
tions for,  51. 

Minister    (See  Social  Service). 

Musician,  220;  opportunities  of, 
222;  preparation  of,  221,  222; 
qualifications  of,  221. 

Nursing,  162;  opportunities  in, 
103;  preparation  for,  163; 
qualifications  for,  162, 


INDEX 


251 


Occupations,  relationships  of,  11. 

Office  Work,  134  (See  Stenogra- 
pher and  Typist) . 

Opportunities,  of  actors,  222;  in 
advertising,  140;  in  agricul 
ture,  3G;  for  artists,  222;  in 
banking,  82,  83 ;  in  building, 
115;  for  dentists,  167;  in  do- 
mestic arts,  217;  in  dressmak- 
ing, 212;  in  engineering,  19!); 
in  forestry,  48;  in  government 
service,  24,  26;  for  hotel  keep- 
ers, 220;  in  journalism,  IS  1  ; 
in  law,  148;  in  manufacturing, 
99;  in  medicine,  156;  in  mil- 
linery, 212;  in  mining,  53,  54; 
for  musicians,  212;  in  nurs- 
ing, 163,  164;  in  printing,  108, 
109;  in  railroading,  71;  for 
salesmen,  130;  in  social  serv- 
ice, 186;  in  stenography  and 
typewriting,  136;  in  tailoring, 
214;   in  teaching,  174. 

Pay  (See  Income). 

Personality,  225 ;  appearance, 
226;  cheerfulness;  231;  enthu- 
siasm, 231;  manner,  227;  tact, 
230;  voice,  226. 

Physical  Director  (See  Teach- 
ing). 

Physician    (See  Medicine). 

Playgrounds  (See  Social  Serv- 
ice). 

Post  Office  (See  Government 
Service) . 

Poultry  Business,  31,  38. 

Preparation,  for  acting,  221, 
222;  for  advertising,  140;  for 
agriculture,  35 ;  of  artists, 
221,  222;  for  banking,  82;  of 
builders,  114;  of  dentists, 
166;  for  domestic  arts,  216; 
for  dressmaking,  211,  212;  for 
engineering,   198 ;   for  forestry, 


48;  for  government  service,  23, 
24 ;  for  hotel  management, 
219;  for  journalism,  180;  for 
law,  148;  for  manufacturing, 
94;  for  medicine,  155;  for 
millinery,  211,  212;  for  min- 
ing, 52;  of  musicians,  221, 
222;  of  nurses,  163;  for  print- 
ing, 108;  for  professions,  27; 
for  railroading,  70;  of  sales- 
men, 127;  for  social  service, 
185;  of  stenographer  and  typ- 
ist,  136;   of  teachers,   173. 

Printing,  107;  in  government 
service,  19;  preparation  for, 
108. 

Professions,  144;  (See  Dentist, 
Chemist,  Law,  Medicine, 
Teaching ) . 


Qualifications,  of  actors,  221; 
for  advertising,  139;  for  agri- 
culture, 32;  of  artists,  221; 
for  banking,  81  ;  of  builders, 
111;  for  business,  123;  of  den- 
tists, 165;  166;  difficulty  in 
determining,  9 ;  for  domestic 
arts,  216;  for  dressmaking, 
210;  for  engineering,  197;  for 
forestry,  47 ;  for  government 
service,  21;  of  hotel  keepers, 
218;  for  journalism,  178;  for 
law,  146;  for  manufacturing, 
90;  for  medicine,  152;  for  mil- 
linery, 210;  for  mining,  51;  of 
musician,  221;  necessary  for 
all  occupations  (See  Effi- 
ciency, Personality,  Health, 
Character,  Friends)  ;  of 
nurses,  162,  163;  for  railroad- 
ing, 66:  of  salesmen,  123;  for 
social  service,  184:  of  ste- 
nographer and  typist,  135, 
136;    of  teachers,    177. 


252 


INDEX 


Railroading      (See     Transporta- 
tion) . 
Restaurants    (See   Hotels). 

Salary    (See  Income). 

Salesmen,  opportunities  of,  130; 
preparation  of,  127;  qualifica- 
tions of,  123. 

Schools,  library,  191;  railroad, 
70,  71  ;  technical,  109. 

Science,  in  agriculture,  40,  41  ; 
in  government  service,  27;  in 
manufacturing,   00 

Scientific  Manager,   104 

Social  Service,  183;  opportuni- 
ties in,  ISO:  preparation  for, 
185;  qualifications  for,  184. 

Stenographers,  135;  opportuni- 
ties of,  136;  preparation  of, 
136. 

Tailoring,  209,  214,  215;  man- 
agement, 215;  opportunities 
in,   214. 

Teaching,  opportunities  in.  174; 
preparation  for,  173;  qualifica- 
tions for,  171. 

Training   (See  Preparation) . 

Transportation,  Trades,  history 
of.  00;  opportunities  in,  71; 
organization  of,  61;  prepara- 
tion for,  70:  qualifications  for, 
66;  wages,  71. 


Typists,    135;    opportunities    of, 
l;$0;   preparation  of,  136. 


Veterinary,  38. 

Wages    (See  Income). 

Welfare  Work    (See  Social  Serv- 
ice) . 

Women,  opportunities  of,  in   ad- 
vertising,  141;    in  agriculture, 
45;    in   banking,   84;    in   build- 
ing, 117;   in  dentistry,  168;   in 
domestic   arts,    217;    in    dress- 
making,   212;    in    engineering, 
207;   in  factories,  106,  107;   in 
general,     14;     in     government 
service,     29;      in      journalism, 
182;     in     law,     148,     151;     in 
library    work,    192;     in    medi- 
cine,   160;    in   millinery,    212; 
in     mining.     50;     in     nursing, 
163,    164;    in    offices,    138;    in 
printing,    108;    in   railroading, 
77;    in    social   service,    188;    in 
stenography    and    typewriting, 
136;   in  teaching,  177. 

Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion   (See  Social  Service). 

Young  Women's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation   (See  Social  Service). 


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